IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


1.0 


I.I 


"-  IIIIIM 

|50      

I"  m 

I!:  1^ 


1.8 


1.25     U 

||||<> 

6"    — 

► 

<^ 


/2 


^a 


>F 


^>> 


^»  ■  j^  v'  .^  ^^ 


'/ 


Photographic 

Sciences 
Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  NY.  14580 

(716)  872-4503 


<*       ^      //I.     ^^^ 


Wj: 


f/j 


^. 


^ 


^v         O 


CIHM/ICMH 
Microfiche 


CIHM/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiques 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes/Notes  techniqueit  et  bibliographiques 


Th« 
tot 


The  Institute  has  attempted  to  obtain  the  best 
original  copy  available  for  filming.  Features  of  this 
copy  which  may  be  bibliographicaliy  unique, 
which  may  alter  any  of  the  images  in  the 
reproduction,  or  which  may  significantly  change 
the  usual  method  of  filming,  are  checked  below. 


L'Institut  a  microfilm^  le  meilleur  exemplaire 
qu'll  lui  a  ete  possible  de  se  procurer.  Les  details 
de  cet  exemplaire  qui  sont  peut-itre  uniques  du 
point  de  vue  bibliographique,  qui  peuvent  modifier 
une  image  reproduite,  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une 
modification  dans  la  m^thode  normale  de  filmage 
sont  indiqu^s  ci-dessous. 


The 
post 
of 
film 


n 

D 
D 

n 


n 


n 


n 


D 


Coloured  covers/ 
Couverture  de  couleiii- 

Covers  damaged/ 
Couverture  endommag^e 

Covers  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Couverture  restaur^e  et/ou  pelliculAe 

Cover  title  missing/ 

Le  titre  de  couverture  manque 

Coloured  maps/ 

Cartes  gAographiques  en  coulaur 

Coloured  ink  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  black)/ 
Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 

Coloured  plates  and/or  illustrations/ 
Planches  et/ou  illustrations  en  couleur 

Bound  with  other  material/ 
Relii  avec  d'autres  documents 

Tight  binding  may  cause  shadows  or  distortion 
along  interior  margin/ 

Lareliure  serrie  peut  causer  de  I'ombre  ou  de  la 
distorsion  le  long  de  la  marge  intirieure 

Blank  leaves  added  during  restor&tion  may 
appear  within  the  text.  Whenever  possible,  these 
have  been  omitted  from  filming/ 
II  se  peut  que  certaines  pages  blanches  ajouttes 
lors  d'une  restauration  apparaissent  dans  le  texte, 
mais,  iorsque  cela  itait  possible,  ces  pages  n'ont 
pas  i(ti  film^as. 

Additional  comments:/ 
Commentaires  suppl^mentaires; 


□    Coloured  pages/ 
Pages  de  couleur 

□    Pages  damaged/ 
Pages  endommagies 


D 


D 


Pages  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Pages  restaurdes  et/ou  pelliculies 


Ori( 

beg 

the 

•ion 

oth( 

firet 

•ion 

or  11 


r~p(   Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 


Pages  d^color^es,  tacheties  ou  piquees 

Pages  detached/ 
Pages  di^tachees 

Showthrough/ 
Transparence 

Quality  of  prir 

Quality  inigale  de  ('impression 

Includes  supplementary  materii 
Comprend  du  materiel  supplAmentaire 


r~~|  Pages  detached/ 

HT]  Showthrough/ 

p~l  Quality  of  print  varies/ 

Pn  Includes  supplementary  material/ 


/The 
shel 
TINI 
whi( 

Mar 
diff< 
enti 
begl 
rlgh^ 
requ 
metl 


Only  edition  available/ 
Seule  Edition  disponible 

Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
slips,  tissues,  etc.,  have  been  refilmed  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  image/ 
Les  pages  totalement  ou  partiellement 
obscurcies  par  un  feuillet  d'errata.  une  pelure, 
etc.,  ont  iti  filmies  A  nouveau  de  facon  i 
obtenir  la  meilleure  image  possible. 


r 


This  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  est  filmA  au  taux  de  reduction  indiquA  ci-dessous. 


10X 

14X 

18X 

22X 

26X 

30X 

J 

12X 


16X 


20X 


24X 


28X 


32X 


Tha  copy  filmed  here  has  been  reproduced  thank* 
to  the  generosity  of: 

University  of  British  Columbia  Library 


L'exemplaire  film*  f ut  reproduit  grice  k  la 
g^ntrositi  da: 

University  of  British  Columbia  Library 


The  images  appearing  here  are  the  best  quality 
possible  considering  the  condition  and  legibility 
of  the  original  copy  and  in  keeping  with  the 
filming  contract  specifications. 


Original  copies  in  printed  paper  covers  are  filmed 
beginning  with  the  front  cover  and  ending  on 
the  last  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, or  the  back  cover  when  appropriate.  All 
other  original  copies  are  fiimad  beginning  on  the 
first  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, and  ending  on  the  last  page  with  a  printed 
or  illustrated  impression. 


-^^The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  — »■  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  the  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"). 
whichever  applies. 


Les  images  suivantes  ont  At*  teproduites  avec  le 
plus  grand  soin,  compte  tenu  de  la  condition  at 
de  la  nettet6  de  l'exemplaire  filmA,  et  en 
conformity  avec  les  conditions  du  contrat  de 
filmage. 

Les  exemplaires  originaux  dont  la  couverture  en 
papier  est  imprimte  sont  filmto  en  commenpant 
par  le  premier  plat  at  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
derniAre  page  qui  compbrte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration,  soit  par  le  second 
plat,  salon  le  cas.  Tous  les  autres  exemplaires 
originaux  sont  filmte  en  commenpant  par  la 
premiere  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration  et  en  terminant  par 
la  dernidre  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 

Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaitra  sur  la 
derniire  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbols  — ►  signifie  "A  SUIVRE  ".  le 
symbols  V  signifie  "FIN". 


Maps,  plates,  charts,  etc..  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc..  peuvent  Atre 
film6s  A  des  taux  de  reduction  diffirents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  Atre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  clichA.  il  est  film*  A  partir 
de  I'angle  supArieur  gauche,  de  gauche  A  droite. 
et  de  haut  en  bas.  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  nicessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  mithode. 


1 

2 

3 

1 

2 

3 

\       4 

5 

6 

< 


o 

o; 
o 
n 

< 


•A 

a 


ON  THE  SHORES 


OF 


AN   INluAND    SEA. 


H 

ID 

o 

a; 
o 

a 

P3 
123 

a 

a 


BY 


JAMES  TEACKLE  DENNIS. 


ILLUSTRATED. 


PHILADELPH I  A: 

PRINTED  BY  J.  B.  LIPPINCOTT  COMPANY. 

1896. 


COPVUIGHT,  1894, 
BY 

James  Tkackle  Dennis. 


CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    I. 

On  the  Wing  ^^""^ 
5 

CHAPTER    11. 
The  Passing  of  the  Days 13 

CHAPTER    III. 
A  Pause  in  Flight 23 

CHAPTER    ly. 
In  an  Old  Nest. oi 

CHAPTER    V. 
To  Icy  Barriers ^. 

CHAPTER    VI. 
To  Warmer  Climes c  , 

CHAPTER    VII. 
The  Last  Mkuiation q^ 

8 


c 

a 
t] 

C] 

t\ 

T 
tt 
a 
in 


ON  THE  SHOEES 


OF 


AN    INLAND    SEA. 


CHAPTEE  I. 


ON  THE  WING. 


At  last  I  had  reached  my  destination :  San  Fran- 
cisco,— its  steep  hills  covered  with  the  magnificent 
architecture  of  the  Golden  State, — its  streets 
thronged  with  Celestial  pigtails  and  civilized  close- 
cropped  heads, — its  bay  filled  with  shipping  from 
the  far-oif  (but  not  so  very  far  off,  either,  I  sud- 
denly recollect)  Orient,  which  should  be  the 
"Solent'*  here, — had  been  studied  and  traversed. 
The  "  Golden  Gate"  had  begun  to  tarnish  a  little, 
the  ClifiF  House  and  Seal  Eocks  were  hardly  worth 
a  fifteenth  visit,  and  the  restless  spirit  that  has 
invaded  living  beings,  from   protoplasmal  flea  to 


6 


On  the  Shores  of  an  Inland  Sea, 


tliouglitful  man,  began  to  yearn  for  fresh  sights 
and  sounds.  Where  could  I  now  turn — toward 
what  lands  ?  Many  places  beckoned :  the  Yo- 
semite,  Hawaii  (Liliuokalani  would  have  received 
and  welcomed  me,  had  I  gone  there,  but  I  did  not), 
Alaska — yes,  at  that  word  my  heart  leaped.  I 
would  go  to  Alaska.  I  was  a  little  uncertain 
whether  the  "Si-wash"  would  prove  to  be  a  man 
or  some  sort  of  an  animal;  totem-poles  as  articles 
of  religious  faith  were  something  with  which  I 
had  no  experience ;  and  while  Utah  had  prepared 
me  for  polygamy,  I  had,  as  yet,  no  close  contact 
with  a  religion  of  polyandry.  It  took  just  five 
seconds  by  the  watch  to  make  up  my  mind,  and 
the  next  step  was  to  secure  my  passage.  That  was 
by  no  means  a  hard  task ;  the  season  was  nearly 
over,  and  I  had  no  trouble.  So  within  three  days 
I  found  myself  comfortably  ensconced  in  an  excel- 
lent state-room  on  the  steamer  Umatilla,  speeding 
swiftly  through  the  Golden  Gate  and  heading 
toward  the  Pacific.  Three  days  of  steaming, 
with  occasional  glimpses  of  the  coast, — Mendocino, 
with  green  fields  breaking  into  yellow  sands  along 
its  rugged,  rolling  slopes;  the  Columbia  River, 
muddying  with  its  turbid  waters  even  the  deep 


On  the  Wing. 


deep 


azure  of  the  ocean  for  a  dozen  miles  away  from  its 
mouth, — and  the  morning  dawned  to  find  us  at 
Victoria,  B.  C.  We  were  there  only  a  few  hours, — 
just  time  enough  to  visit  the  long,  low  government 
buildings  and  the  business  portion  of  the  town, — 
and  then  steamed  to  Port  Townsend,  our  last  stop 
in  the  United  States.  Port  Townsend  has  a  street- 
railway, — at  least  the  tracks  are  there, — and  it  is 
rumored  that  once  every  hour  the  car  makes  a 
trip.  Of  course,  at  such  long  intervals,  it  would 
be  a  small  waste  of  time  to  ask  your  friend,  to 
whom  you  are  chatting  on  the  corner,  to  "  wait  for 
the  next  car ;"  he  would  grow  hoary-headed  while 
waiting,  and  would  then  have  to  be  identified, 
when  he  reached  home.  So  the  car  jogs  along  the 
even  tenor  of  its  way,  unmindful  whether  the 
passengers  take  it  or  walk ;  and  as  the  "  Port" 
is  very  tiny,  that  latter  alternative  does  not  seem 
to  incommode  any  one. 

From  the  hills  above  the  town  there  is  a  mag- 
nificent view  over  Puget  Sound  and  down  toward 
Seattle  and  Tacoma, — that  is  to  say,  the  view  is 
there,  if  you  can  only  penetrate  the  vast  volumes 
of  smoke  which  roll  down  from  the  many  fires 
among   the   forest-clad   hills   that  encircle  Puget 


8 


On  the  Shores  of  an  Inland  Sea, 


Sound    like    strings   of    emeralds   about  a   huge 
sapphire. 

One  entertaining  feature  of  Port  Townsend  is 
the  "  Poodle  Dog," — a  little  restaurant  where 
the  best  of  Puget  Sound  oysters  are  obtainable: 
some  persons  object  to  them  and  call  them  "  cop- 
pery" in  taste,  but  to  me  they  were  most  deli- 
cious. When  you  come  to  settle  for  them,  you 
may  find,  however,  that  terrapin  and  canvas-back 
would  be  a  cheap  commodity  by  comparison. 
Here,  too,  we  leave  the  Umatilla,  which  runs  to 
Puget  Sound  ports,  and  change  to  the  City  of  To- 
peka.  She  arrived  about  nine  p.m.,  and  I  imme- 
diately secured  my  room — a  large,  comfortable  one 
just  forward  of  the  main  saloon  entrance — and 
retired. 

The  next  morning  found  us  again  at  Victoria ; 
and  the  military  band  at  Esquimalt,  just  across  the 
harbor,  combined  with  the  crack  of  rifles  at  target 
practice,  played  an  accompaniment  to  our  break- 
fast. We  discharged  our  freight  (and  one  of  the 
crew,  for  being  unruly)  and  then  steamed  swiftly 
through  the  Gulf  of  Georgia,  the  United  States  a 
dim,  shadowy  outline  to  the  east,  and  the  green 
hills  of  Vancouver  rolling   between   us   and   the 


071  the  Wing, 


9 


greener  Pacific  to  the  west.  Passengers  on  excur- 
sion steamers  like  the  City  of  Topeka  are  seldom 
ceremonious,  and  very  soon  we  felt  like  old  friends. 
And  as  for  the  jolly,  red-bearded  captain,  the 
entertaining  pilot,  and  little  "McGinty,"  our 
thoughtful    steward, — had    there    been   no   other 


VIEW    NKAR   NANAIMO. 


individuals  on  board,  they  alone  would  have  been 
equal  to  the  emergency  of  the  case. 

So  the  night  fell,  and  with  the  next  day  noon 
we  had  a  glimpse  of  Nanaimo,  and  by  four  p.m. 
dropped   anchor  in  its  coaling   harbor,  about  ten 


10 


On  the  Shores  of  an  Inland  Sea. 


ii 


miles  north  of  the  city,  where  we  lay  in  close 
2:>roxiniity  to  a  British  war-ship,  whose  grim  can- 
non looked  rather  gruesome  and  altogether  dan- 
gerous. 

Of  course  everybody  went  ashore,  just  to  come 
to  "  close  quarters"  with  the  gigantic  pines  tower- 
ing up  into  the  blue  for  thrice  fifty  feet;  just  to 
gaze  across  the  panorama  of  sea  and  mountain, 
glazed  into  a  dim,  indefinable  mistiness  by  the 
sunset  shadows;  just  to  stoop  down  and  pull  great 
bunches  of  "  sweet  clover,"  which  is  not  clover  at 
all,  or  any  variety  of  it,  but  an  herb  which  some- 
what resembles  the  plantain  or  mullein  of  our  own 
fields,  and  from  which  the  perfume  *'  new-mown 
hay"  is  derived. 

Night,  swift  in  this  region,  found  us  still  coal- 
ing ;  but  by  ten  p.m.  it  was  all  aboard,  and  we 
started  in  earnest  for  our  ''  latest  acquisition."  The 
next  morning  found  us  in  '*  Discovery  Passage," 
thouii'h  what  "  disco verv"  was  made  there  is  un- 
told.  Probably  the  fact  that  the  first  tourist  who 
entered  it  came  out  alive  had  something  to  do  with 
the  name,  for  the  channel  is  as  winding,  tortuous, 
and  twisted  as  the  methods  of  a  political  juggler; 
but  the  scenery  is  magnificent.     We  steam  under 


On  the  Wing. 


11 


the  shadows  of  overhanging  mountains,  rounded 
into  exquisite  regularity  by  the  weather,  that  sharp 
chisel  of  the  sculptor  Time,  and  covered  with  densest 
foliage,  through  which  occasionally  comes  the  gleam 
of  a  cleared  field  or  a  little  house  nestling  close  to 
the  water's  edge,  as  if  half  afraid   that  the  hills 


I 


V^IEW   IN   SEYMOUR   NAUKOWb. 


above  might  swoop  down  on  it  unawares.  Beyond 
this  channel,  lies  "  Seymour  Narrows,"  still  more 
winding,  and  with  an  added  danger  in  the  strength 
of  the    current,  which    is   estimated   at   fourteen 


12 


On  the  Shores  of  an  Inland  Sea, 


■II 


knots  per  hour.  So  powerful  is  it  that  captains 
time  their  passage  so  as  to  reach  this  point  at  the 
hours  of  extreme  flood  or  extreme  ebb  tide.  We 
happened  there  at  the  latter  time ;  yet  even  then 
our  steamer  heeled  over  several  degrees,  as  the  cur- 
rent, after  rushing  in  small  whirlpools  around  the 
rocky  headlands,  struck  fair  under  our  bows  and 
along  our  keel.  After  several  experiences  of  this 
sort,  no  one  grieved  when  the  little  light-house  at 
the  north  end  of  the  channel  suddenly  loomed  up 
from  behind  a  ridge  of  hills  on  the  right ;  and  just 
as  the  sun  set  behind  the  curving  Vancouver  hills, 
we  steamed  into  the  broad  waters  of  Johnstone 
Straits. 


The  Passing  of  the  Days. 


13 


CHAPTER   11. 


THE   PASSING   OF   THE   DAYS. 


A  GREAT  many  people  find  delight  in  wander- 
ing through  ancient  church-yards,  deciphering  the 
moss-grown  inscriptions  on  crumbling  tombstones 
and  musing  on  the  mutability  of  human  life, — its 
hopes  and  fears,  its  achievements  and  failures.  If 
such  had  formed  a  portion  of  our  fellow-passen- 
gers, the  next  day  would  have  proved  a  "red-letter 
day"  in  their  history,  and  given  them  pabulum  for 
months  to  come;  for  it  brought  us  our  first  sight  of 
a  native  cemetery,  beautifully  situated  beneath  the 
hills  surrounding  Alert  Bay.  The  "  Si-wash"  (as 
the  native  Alaskan  is  called)  takes  delight  in 
gaudy  colors  while  alive ;  and  if  to  these  artistic 
displays  one  adds  some  design  that  is  positively 
hideous, — something  that  would  cause  the  beholder 
to  swear  that  the  Medusa's  head  or  the  faces  o^"  gor- 
gons,  hydras  and  chimoeras  dire"  were  chaste  and 
beautiful  as  a  Venus  or  Aphrodite  by  comparison, 
— his  native  taste  would  be  abundantly  gratified. 


14 


On  the  Shores  of  an  Inland  Sea, 


Perhaps  it  is  something  of  the  same  feeling  which 
causes  their  more  civilized  neighbors  of  the  world 
— the  "  fair  sex" — to  see  beauty  and  grace  in  the 
latest  malformations  depicted  in  fashion-plates  of 
recent  date.  However  this  may  be,  the  Si-wash 
gives  his  dead  the  same  privilege  accorded  to  the 
living ;  and  as  the  defunct  cannot  habilitate  him- 
self, his  friends  do  it  for  him.  Strips  of  colored 
cloth,  flags,  and  all  manner  of  outlandish  decora- 
tions adorn  the  lowly  graves,  and  are  as  certain 
signs  of  a  cemetery,  wherever  met,  as  the  rubi- 
cund nose  of  the  confirmed  toper  is  of  the  grave 
of  buried  manhood.  At  this  particular  ceme- 
tery, also,  some  artist,  w^iose  name  I  cannot  pro- 
nounce (having  never  heard  it),  has  designed  a 
monstrosity  in  the  shape  of  a  wooden  eagle  (as 
"wooden"  in  its  attitude  as  in  its  material  part), 
perched  upon  the  back  of  a  whale  or  seal.  Per- 
haps I  was  not  well  enough  versed  in  ichthyology 
to  decide  exactly  what  sort  of  creature  it  did 
represent.  Perhaps,  also,  it  was  some  prophetic 
instinct  of  the  "  Behring  Sea  question"  animating 
the  carver.  Whatever  they  were,  there  they  stood, 
mute  tribal  totems  that  seemed  as  if  they  were  the 
spirits  of  the  olden  days,  still  guarding  the  dust  of 


!  \ 

l! 


The  Passing  of  the  Days. 


15 


those  of  whose  faiths  they  were  the  crude  emblems 
and  delineations. 

With  the  coming  of  the  evening,  we  approached 
Queen  Charlotte  Sound,  at  the  north  end  of  Van- 
couver, opening  into  the  Pacific;  the  first  long 
swell  of  whose  waters  reached  us  soon  after  din- 
ner. And,  strange  to  say,  many  of  our  passengers 
became  suddenly  "  tired,"  and  wanted  to  lie  down. 
The  "  lassitude"  which  sea  air  begets  is  never  more 
strongly  shown  than  when  there  is  a  slight  sea  on  ; 
everybody  wants  a  rest. 

We  had  hardly  left  the  shelter  of  the  hills,  how- 
ever, and  steamed  out  into  Ihe  Sound,  when  a 
genuine  Alaskan  fog  came  up,  the  first  we  had 
encountered.  These  fogs  are  like  nothing  one 
meets  at  home.  With  us,  they  come  drifting, 
silent,  swift,  gradually  thickening  until  surround- 
ing objects  gleam  dimly  and  damply ;  here  and  in 
Alaska  they  come  rolling  down  from  mountain-top 
or  across  the  waters  in  massive  walls  as  of  smoke 
from  factory  chimneys,  wreathing,  twisting,  coil- 
ing as  they  approach,  until  they  whirl  around  you, 
and  the  air  becomes  in  an  instant  chill  and  vault- 
like, reminding  one  of  death  and  the  grave,  and 
producing  sensations  akin  to  those  one  feels  in  the 


m. 


16 


071  the  Shores  of  an  Inland  Sea. 


vaults  of  the  Capuchin  Monastery  in  Rome, 
among  the  skeleton  remains  of  the  brethren 
decorating  wall  and  ceiling;  and  everybody  was 
very  glad  to  exchange  the  damp,  chill  deck  and 
rugged  face  of  nature  for  the  warmth  and  light  of 
the  Topeka's  cabin  and  the  genial  countenance  of 
our  courteous  captain. 

The  steamer  turned  back  and  anchored  in  a  little 
harbor,  which  was  evidently  the  crater  of  a  vol- 
cano at  some  long-past  period — Port  Alexander, 
the  pilot  called  it.  We  steamed  up  into  the  circu- 
lar harbor,  past  a  peak  of  rock  jutting  up  sheer 
and  precipitous  in  the  centre  of  tiie  "  crater,''  to 
within  hardly  a  hundred  yards  from  the  shore,  or 
rather  edge,  for  there  is  no  shore,  properly  speak- 
ing; yet  even  there,  eighteen  fathoms  of  cable 
were  run  out  before  the  anchor  '*  took  the  ground.'* 
What  a  harbor!  Rugged,  beetling,  fire-scarred 
crags  towered  for  hundreds  of  feet  above  us  on  all 
sides,  save  by  the  narrow  channel  wherethrough 
we  had  entered.  Above,  the  wind  roared  and  the 
fog  swept  in  clouds  of  smoke-like  vapor;  below, 
we  were  as  quiet  as  though  in  our  own  homes. 
What  secrets  the  depths  below  us  Jiold  who  can* 
tell  ?    Even  the  government  charts  are  exceedingly 


The  Passi7ig  of  the  Days. 


17 


inaccurate  as  to  topography  and  soundings;  one 
may  approach  the  rocky  shores — almost  all  being 
nearly  perpendicular — to  within  a  hundred  feet, 
and  yet  find  soundings  of  thirty  to  thirty-five  fath- 
oms. As  oiie  of  our  passengers  remarked,  "  If  all 
this  water  could  be  drained  off  from  Sitka  to  Vic- 
toria, we  would  have  one  great,  big  Yosemite  Val- 
ley." And  a  Yosemite  over  four  hundred  miles 
long,  at  that !  What  a  chance  for  some  De  Les- 
seps !  If  canals  failed,  he  might  turn  his  hand  to 
erecting  a  dam  here  and  there  along  the  Alaskan 


IDOL   OF    HAYDAH    INDIANS. 


coast,  and  give  us  another  "National  Park."  But 
none  will  ever  view  those  depths,  nor  learn  what 
lies  beneath  those  waters ;  nor  will  mortal  compu- 


m 


]-t\ 


2 


18 


On  the  Shores  of  an  Inland  Sea. 


m 


tation  of  time  measure  the  ages  since  Nature  turned 
lier  hour-glass  and  allowed  the  Ocean  God  to  usurp 
the  til  rone  of  the  Fire  God. 

The  next  morning  the  sun  rose  bright  and  clear, 
and  between  the  sunken  reefs  that  lie  scattered 
everywhere  through  the  Sound  the  Topeka  held 
her  way  northward.  From  here  on  the  scenery 
changed.  Instead  of  high,  rolling  hills,  covered 
with  a  magnificent  growth  of  timber,  all  inter- 
spersed with  rich  meadows,  the  earth  becomes 
rocky  and  cragged ;  verdure  disappears,  and  in  its 
place  come  short,  stubby  trees,  their  roots  taking 
but  weak  hold  of  the  mossy,  spongy  soil  that  edges 
the  many  water-ways  leading  in  all  directions,  like 
the  canals  and  dikes  of  Holland  and  Belgium.  The 
mountains  become  sharp  and  pointed,  all  showing 
distinct  volcanic  action  ;  and  nestling  in  their  dark 
depths  are  dozens  of  little  lakes,  whose  waters  fall 
in  silver  dashings  over  the  precipices  that  bound 
them  into  the  blue  waves  below. 

In  Queen  Charlotte  Sound,  also,  we  sighted  our 
first  school  of  whales,  from  thenceforth  to  be  our 
daily  companions,  until  we  became  so  accustomed 
to  their  appearance  that  sparrows  around  our  dwell- 
ings would  be  more  liable  to  excite  our  curiosity 


The  Passing  of  the  Days, 


19 


and  surprise.  Nor  were  these  pygmies,  but  huge 
cetaceans  sixty  or  seventy  feet  in  length,  some  so 
far  off  that  only  the  dark  line  of  their  backs  and 
the  vapor  made  by  their  "  blowing"  revealed  their 
presence ;  others  would  rise  within  fifty  feet  of  the 
steamer,  their  wet  backs  resembling  big  barrels, 
and  leaving  an  oily  deposit  on  the  surface  after  they 
had  descended.  Occasionallv  one  would  "  breach," 
— that  is,  stand  on  its  head,  with  its  tail  and  per- 
haps half  its  body  out  of  the  water,  for  a  minute  or 
two,  and  then  suddenly  jDlunge  below  with  the  speed 
of  an  express  train.  Man  is  not  the  only  enemy 
of  the  whale,  however.  The  captain  had  no  part 
in  arranging  it,  but  nevertheless  those  whales  gave 
us  a  gladiatorial  contest  before  we  were  through 
with  them,  with  the  wide  waters  for  the  arena  and 
a  sword-fish  for  "  retiarus,"  while  one  of  the  whales 
performed  the  part  of  swordsman.  For  fully  five 
minutes  the  waters  near  us  were  in  a  whirling  com- 
motion, the  sword-fish  often  leaping  entirely  out  of 
the  water  in  order  to  stab  liis  ponderous  antago- 
nist, but  every  time  to  be  foiled  by  a  swift  move- 
ment on  the  part  of  the  assailed  whale,  which 
spouted  as  vigorously  as  a  stump-speaker,  and 
thrashed  the  waves  with  his  huge  tail  something 


20 


On  the  Shores  of  an  Inland  Sea, 


'% 


lit 


f  f 


after  the  manner  of  a  camp-meeting  exliorter.  But 
suddenly  the  commotion  ceased ;  either  the  whale 
had  been  pierced  in  a  vital  part  or  the  sword-fish 
had  given  up  the  contest.  The  waters  settled  down, 
and  we  began  to  look  for  other  excitements.  The 
captain  informed  us  that  such  a  sight  was  a  usual 
one  in  these  waters.  And  just  here  let  me  insert 
an  event  that  happened  a  few  days  later.  We  had 
been  admiring  the  large  growth  of  timber,  when 
some  one  exclaimed  "  Look !  there's  a  whale 
ashore!"  Sure  enough,  a  mighty  splashing,  fol- 
lowed by  the  heave  of  a  long,  black  body  close 
along  the  beach,  gave  token  of  some  unusual  event, 
and  we  all  watched  eagerly.  The  whale  did  not 
seem  to  move;  yet  presently  another  splash  was 
seen  and  heard,  and  another  whale  "  bobbed  up 
serenely  from  below"  beside  his  mate.  It  seemed 
as  if  a  family  of  whales  were  having  a  reunion 
there.  But  rounding  a  point  of  rock  that  lay  be- 
tween them  and  us,  we  saw  it  all.  Loggers  were 
sending  timber  down  the  "chute;"  the  "whales** 
were  only  logs,  and  their  splashings  were  only  the 
waves  made  by  their  ingress  to  the  waters.  Our 
"  biological"  passenger  was  seen  no  more  until  late 
in  the  evening. 


I 


The  Passing  of  the  Days. 


21 


We  were  rather  surprised  after  dinner  to  be 
called  to  service,  and  a  hasty  consultation  of  the 
almanac  informed  us  that  the  day  was  Sunday  ;  so 
we  accepted  the  invitation,  and  attended  divine 
worship  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  C ,  of  Tacoma,  a  fel- 
low-passenger, whose  sermon  was,  however,  broken 
by  numerous  exits  at  every  new  view  of  interest 
or  beauty. 

Monday  daw^ned  ;  and  at  last  our  desires  were 
gratified,  and  we  had  reached  Alaska.  Not  a 
very  imposing  or  interesting  part  of  it;  only  a 
little  custom-house  on  Mary's  Island, — a  neat 
little  two-story  structure ;  but  it  looked  quite 
"  home-like"  to  see  our  own  stars  and  stripes 
floating  from  the  flag-pole.      Here  we  embarked 

the  custom-house  ofiicial,  Mr.  M ,  whose  chief 

duties  seem  to  be  to  travel  on  the  steamer,  play 
cribbage,  and  impart  information  to  the  passen- 
gers ;  and  his  great  courtesy  made  him  warm 
friends  during  the  days  we  were  together.  An- 
other "  duty"  I  recall  is  to  see  that  no  one  brings 
any  sort  of  liquors  into  the  Territory.  One  of  our 
passengers  who  landed  at  Juneau  was  obliged  to 
leave  his  pocket-flask  aboard  until  he  should  rejoin 
the  steamer.     On  the  ground  that  though  a  man 


m 


'■ti 


1^^ 


i'-Ji 


It 


22 


I!  . 


On  the  Shores  of  an  Inland  Sea. 


may  think  harm  to  another,  so  long  as  he  does  no 
overt  act  of  injury  he  is  blameless  (which  is  an 
excellent  legal  nxiom),  the  residents  of  Alaska 
may,  and  do,  manufacture  all  the  liquor  they  want, 
but  they  must  not  import  any.  The  idea  is  recom- 
mended to  Governor  Tillman  as  a  change  from 
State  dispensaries,  and  surely  it  is  a  good  "pro- 
tective" system.  I  saw  but  one  intoxicated  man 
in  all  Alaska,  and  he  was  not  a  native. 


1 


!:> 


A  Pause  in  Flight. 


23 


CHAPTER   III. 


A    PAUSE    IN   FLIGHT. 


The  evening  was  approaching  when  we  left 
Mary's  Island,  a  little  gem  in  its  ocean  setting,  and 
a  few  hours*  steaming  brought  us  beneath  the 
shadow  of  a  mighty  volcanic  peak,  cleft  in  twain 
at  the  top,  and  strongly  resembling  Vesuvius  in 
general  appearance,  save  that  its  sides  are  covered 
with  trees  and  foliage,  and  have  none  of  the  grim 
blackness  of  the  lava-clothed  Italian  giant;  nor 
does  the  smoke  and  flame  of  Hadean  fire  roll  and 
flash  from  the  summit,  for  the  crater  is  now  a 
silvery  lake,  whose  waters  escape  in  a  dashing  cas- 
cade down  the  rocky  pathway  to  the  waves  where- 
on we  float.  Nestling  at  its  base,  to  the  northwest, 
lies  the  little  village  of  Port  Chester,  on  Pevilla- 
gigedo  Island,  otherwise  known  as  New  Metlah- 
kahtlah.  This  is  the  first  place  in  Alaska  where 
we  were  allowed  to  land,  and  the  steamer  had 
hardly  anchored  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  shore, 
when  we  were   surrounded    by   dozens  of   native 


m 


m 

m 


I 


it. 


24 


On  the  Shores  of  an  Inland  Sea. 


canoes,  some  propelled  by   mere  boys  of  ten  or 
twelve   years   of  age,   managing    them  with   the 


NEW   METLAHKAHTLAH. 


dexterity  of  men,  and  evincing  a  long  ac([uaint- 
ance  with  the  instability  of  tlieir  craft.  Every- 
body wanted  to  be  first  in  getting  a  sight  of  the 
natives,  but  when  one's  nostrils  become  acquainted, 
curiosity  is  abundantly  satisfied.  Eye  and  ear 
may  go  further,  but  the  nose — ah,  no !  Our  own 
boats  were  lowered,  and  we  entered  and  were 
rowed  ashore  over  waters  so  glassily  clear  that  the 


A  Pause  in  Flight. 


25 


bottom  at  eighteen  feet  was  plainly  visible,  covered 
with  rocks  and  boulders,  with  myriads  of  fish 
swimming  hither  and  thither.  The  natives  re- 
mained on  board,  their  canoes  watched  over  by 
two  or  three  boys.  These  canoes  are  long,  round- 
bottomed,  high  at  bow  and  stern,  with  a  decided 
and  frequent  tendency  to  overturn  at  no  provoca- 
tion, as  I  personally  discovered  later  on.  They  are 
propelled  by  paddles  ranging  from  three  to  five 
feet  in  length ;  sometimes  roughly  made,  but  very 
often  handsomely  finished  and  painted.  The 
natives  are  pleasant- looking  individuals,  with 
round,  fat,  chubby  faces  and  very  decided  Mongo- 
lian features,  and  were  dressed  in  rough  but  neat 
costumes  of  the  civilized  races ;  sometimes  wearing 
high  hip  boots,  but  more  frequently  barefoot.  Not 
all  the  natives  one  meets,  however,  dress  thus 
"  fashionably."  Up  near  Wrangel,  and  from 
there  northward,  the  combinations  of  color  and 
style  would  give  the  ordinary  tailor  and  ladies' 
dress-maker  an  attack  of  apoplexy ;  and  their 
manner  of  wearing  certain  articles  of  clothing 
ap])eals  rather  to  the  sense  of  the  ludicrous  than 
to  that  of  the  ''  eternal  fitness"  of  things.  Evi- 
dently tastes  differ  in  different  lands. 


26 


On  the  Shores  of  an  Inland  Sea. 


'X- 


>i 


The  salmon  cannery  is  the  chief  business  in 
Port  Chester,  and  annually  seven  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  cans  are  shipped  from  this  port 
alone.  But  the  interesting  part  of  the  town  is 
the  Mission,  established  by  two  Scotchmen,  Mr. 
Duncan  and  Mr.  McKay,  to  whom  must  be  given 
credit  for  not  only  evangelizing  but  civilizing  the 
natives.  On  addressing  one  of  the  Si-wash  in 
"Chinook"  (the  name  of  the  intertribal  language), 
I  was  surprised  by  being  answered  in  as  excellent 
English  as  would  be  spoken  in  any  city  in  the 
States,  the  old  man  taking  evident  pleasure  in  his 
proficiency  of  what  was  to  him  a  strange  tongue. 
I  will  admit  also  that  his  English  was  probably 
much  better  and  purer  than  was  my  **  Chinook." 
No  one  would  think  that,  only  a  few  years  ago, 
these  very  men,  now  so  polite  and  })leasant,  were 
mere  savages,  who  were  driven  out  of  their  former 
home  by  British  red  tape,  who  went  on  the  war- 
path and  marked  their  steps  with  blood,  and  who 
finally,  under  the  instructive  leadership  of  the 
gentlemen  above  named,  have  renounced  barbar- 
ism, adopted  civilization,  and  have  built  the  little 
town  wherein  they  now  live.  But  such  is  the 
case. 


A  Pause  in  Flight 


27 


We  left  the  wliarf  and  wandered  up  the  main 
^'street"  toward  the  mission  buildings  and  the 
church,  which  stand  near  the  centre  of  the  town. 
The  "  streets"  (so  called)  are  wide  and  wet ;  a  row 
of  planks  constitutes  the  sidewalk,  and,  in  spite 
of  many  large  ditches,  the  whole  surface  of  the 
ground  is  spongy  and  soft.  Many  beautiful  wild 
flowers  grow  beside  the  foot-path ;  but  unless  one 
can  reach  them  from  the  board  walk,  he  would  be 
wiser  to  leave  them  alone.  One  of  our  party  tried 
to  gather  some  of  the  flowers,  but  only  succeeded 
in  sinking  in  the  mud  over  his  shoe-tops.  The 
houses  are  pretty  little  structures  of  frame  or 
logs.  One  of  the  most  interesting  features  of  their 
church  is  a  painting  on  the  western  wall,  done  by 
a  young  native,  representing  the  visit  of  the  shep- 
herds to  the  infant  Christ.  This  is  a  wonderful 
exhibition  of  atavism ;  for  though  an  Oriental 
subject  is  treated  in  a  Christian  style,  yet  the  faces 
of  all  the  personages — even  the  baby  itself — have 
the  identical  traits  and  lineaments  of  the  faces 
carved  on  the  totem-poles, — large  eyes,  broad 
mouths,  and  general  "  wooden"  appearance.  The 
mission  rooms  are  large^  commodious  and  well 
ventilated. 


\n 


PI 

li 


f!1 

I 


M 


il 


28 


On  the  Shores  of  mi  Inland  Sea. 


Leaving  the  mission,  we  strolled  along  the 
beach,  among  throngs  of  dirty,  mangy,  half- 
starved  dogs,  and  incidentally  came  across  a  native 
laundry.  Soap,  wash-tub,  and  the  other  articles 
which  we  deem  necessaries  in  such  cases  are  all 
superfluities  to  the  native.  Any  ditch  that  has 
running  water  therein  furnishes  them  a  good  tub, 


PADL>LE   AND   AVAR-CLUB,  NEW   M  ETLAHKAHTLAII. 


and  that  is  all  that  is  needed.     A  large  mat,  made 
of  woven  grass  and  reeds,  is  laid  in  the  bottom  of 


A  Pause  in  Flight. 


29 


the  ditch,  the  clothing  (very  much  soiled)  is  piled 
thereon,  and  a  barefoot  "  klutchman"  (woman) 
steps  into  the  middle  of  the  pile,  and  laboriously 
wades  around  until  they  are  a  little  damper,  prob- 
ably, but  certainly  no  cleaner,  than  before  the 
operation.  European  washing  houses,  so  numer- 
ous along  the  rivers  in  the  various  towns,  might 
learn  a  lesson  in  cleanliness  from  the  "klutcli- 
manV  way  of  doing  things.  No  ironing  is  neces- 
sary ;  the  sun  does  that  for  them.  If  "  cleanliness 
is  next  to  godliness,"  I  suggest  the  advent  of  a 
few  more  missionaries  and  a  dozen  cases  of  strong 
so^'p,  on  hygienic  grounds,  if  not  religious  ones. 

But  the  Topeka  had  hoisted  her  sailing  flag, — a 
signal  for  "  all  aboard," — and  taking  leave  of  our 
new  acquaintances,  and  also  taking  a  fine  stone 
battle-axe  which  I  purchased  of  one  of  the  older 
natives,  we  re-embarked,  and  were  soon  steaming 
away  for  Wrangel,  but  witli  eyes  still  turned 
back  to  the  lights  and  shadows  illumining  the 
towering  peak  guarding  the  little  semi-civilized 
charge  beneath  its  feet. 

The  proprietors  of  this  steamship  line  have  evi- 
dently a  full  appreciation  of  the  needs  of  the  inner 
man.     Five  meals  a  day,  with  pie  for  three  meals. 


it 
U 


30 


On  the  Shores  of  an  Inland  Sea, 


and  fresli  salmon  and  halibut ;  these  are  but  a  few 
of  the  delicacies  prepared  for  our  supper  the  night 
we  left  Port  Chester.  Who  blames  one  of  our 
passengers,  if  an  overweening  fondness  for  pie 
caused  a  dearth  of  that  article  before  we  reached 
Sitka  ? 


if 


In  an  Old  Nest, 


31 


lur 
led 


4 


CHAPTER    IV. 


IN   AN   OLD   NEST. 


"When  I  awoke  the  next  day  we  were  in  Fort 
Wrangel,  for  many  years  the  most  important  town 
in  Alas^ka,  being  situated  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Stikeen  River,  the  centre  of  the  gokl-mines. 
Even  now  the  waters  for  many  miles  are  colored 
and  darkened  by  the  detritus  washed  down  by  the 
Stikeen  from  the  many  "  placer  mines"  along  its 
course.  Wrangel  is  named  after  an  old  Russian 
baron  who  first  built  and  fortified  it  as  a  military 
post.  Two  of  the  old  block-houses,  with  their 
second  stories  overhanging  the  lower,  still  remain 
to  show  the  style  of  architecture  necessary  for 
those  days  of  savagery  and  carnage.  We  hurried 
through  breakfast  in  a  manner  calculated  to  highly 
astorils'.  our  digestions  (if  we  have  any  left,  after 
"McGinty's"  plentiful  combinations  of  good  things) 
and  hastened  ashore  to  see  the  sights  of  this  most 
curious  village.     Wrangel,  since  the  gold  fever  has 


i 


'%\\ 


.5  ■  , 


m 


32 


On  the  Shores  of  an  Inland  Sea, 


been  cured  (not  the  Keeley  gold  cure),  has  quieted 
down  into  a  place  whose  chief  attractions  are  its 
totem-poles ;  its  chief  features  mud,  rain,  and  fog ; 
and  its  chief  business  to  cheat  the  innocent  travel- 
ler. The  totem-poles  are  the  main  sights  of  the 
town,  and  every  one  is  well  worth  a  visit,  even 
those  across  the  little  inlet  to  the  south,  where  the 


VIEW   IN   FCRT   WRANQEL. 


burying-ground  is  located.  These  totem-poles  are 
pillars  of  wood  from  twenty  to  one  hundred  feet 
high,  some  carved  for  their  entire  length,  others 
only  at  the  top,  with  all  manner  of  fantastic  shapes, 


In  an  Old  Nest. 


33 


chiefly  heads,  though  the  eagle  (whose  head,  origi- 
nally that  of  a  bald  eagle,  has  been  so  long 
exposed  to  the  weather  that  mosses  and  small 
plants  have  taken  root  thereon,  and  give  his  bird- 
ship  the  appearance  of  a  cat  in  the  presence  of  a  - 
big  dog),  the  whale  (which  is  placed  in  front  of 
the  United  States  government  buildings  near  the 
wharf),  and  the  bear  (with  his  footprints  on  the 
pole  up  which  he  is  supposed  to  have  climbed)  are 
all  fairly  represented.  The  most  curious  thing 
about  them  is  their  history.  They  are  not  the 
work  of  those  who  now  claim  them  ;  when,  where, 
or  by  whom  made,  or  for  what  cause,  is  unknown. 
One  very  old  Si-wash  told  me  that  he  remembered, 
when  a  boy,  forming  one  of  a  party  who  brought  a 
totem-pole  from  a  far-off  spot — he  knew  not  where 
— and  planted  it  with  great  ceremony  in  front  of 
the  palace  (?)  of  one  of  their  chiefs,  where  it  still 
remains.  These  totem-poles  represent  the  geneal- 
ogy of  the  person  before  whose  house  they  stand ; 
and  being  a  sort  of  dii  penates,  it  is  almost  impos- 
sible to  buy  one.  The  natives,  however,  spend 
their  winter  evenings  manufacturing  imitation  ones 
n\  facsimile  J  to  sell  to  summer  tourists.  The  male 
line  is  never  traced  on  these  poles ;  only  the  mater- 

8 


,    I 


34 


On  the  Shores  of  an  Inland  Sea. 


nal  line  is  recorded, — a  peculiarity  of  many  savage 


trib 


ich 


to  follow  up  ;  for  the 


fe  h( 


tjes,  ana  one  niucn  easier 
male  Alaskan  is  a  strict  monogynist — one  wi 
may  have,  and  no  more;  but  the  native  female  is 
alarmingly  polyandrous,  and  her  numerous  hus- 
bands live  together  on  the  best  of  terms.  The 
totem-poles  are  also  used  as  repositories  for  the 
ashes  of  dead  chiefs:  and  in  one  I  found  a  hollow 


place  about 


iches  deep,  filled  with  fr 


lace  aoont  six  inciies  deep,  niiea  witn  iragments 
of  bone  and  fine  dust,  very  likely  the  remains  of 
some  old,  long-forgotten  ruler. 

If  you  do  not  object  to  wading  in  mud  over  your 
shoe-tops,  Wrangel  will  be  a  soui'ce  of  wonder  and 
delight;  and  as  a  small  space  of  beach,  between  the 
huts  of  the  natives  and  the  straits,  constitutes  the 
main  "  street,"  and  a  board  walk  up  to  the  govern- 
ment buildings  is  the  other  "  street,"  one  cannot 
well  lose  his  or  her  way.  AVliile  wandering  around, 
one  of  our  party  happened  to  pick  up  a  handsome 
"  potlatch"  club,  lying  partly  concealed  in  the  grass. 
He  bore  it  off  in  triumph,  to  the  chagrin  of  three 
others,  wdio  formed  the  exploring  party.  But 
hardly  had  that  war-club  gone  a  quarter  of  a  mile, 
when  the  possessor  (?)  was  approached  by  a  Si-wash, 
who  politely  informed  him  that  something  about 


'  p 


In  an  Old  Nest. 


3o 


asli, 
bout 


liim  was  objectionable  to  the  native  gentleman's 
ideas.  A  colloquy  in  Chinook  on  the  one  part  and 
English  on  the  other  followed,  with  very  little 
being  understood  on  either  hand,  until  one  of  the 
2^arty  suggested,  "  Try  him  with  a  quarter.'  Tlie 
hint  was  acted  upon,  and  the  native,  his  face 
wreathed  in  smiles,  patted  the  "  potlatch"  club  and 
pointed  "^j  the  finder,  bowing.  We  had  no  more 
accusiitions  of  petty  larceny  to  contend  against. 

It  began  to  rain,  and  we  returned  to  our  steamer, 
only  stopping  for  a  few  photographs  of  some  of 
the  handsomest  totem-poles.  They  are  not  to  be 
met  with  north  of  Wrangel,  but  here  they  are 
plentiful ;  and,  surrounded  by  the  mist  and  rains 
so  copious  in  this  region,  they  seem  grim  sentinels 
of  the  nations  who  once  reverenced  them,  and 
whose  monuments  they  will  still  be,  long  after  their 
present  worshippers  have  mouldered  in  the  earth. 

Wrangel  is  the  only  place  where  you  can  pur- 
chase tlie  Alaskan  garnet,  —  large,  well-colored 
gems  which  the  natives  bring  down  to  the  wharf 
and  sell  at  the  low  rate  of  two  for  a  half-dime. 
One  can  also  buy  souvenir  spoons  of  wood,  carved 
by  the  natives,  bead-work,  seal-skins,  medicine- 
men's charms,  and,  among  other  things,  I  recall  a 


m 


On  the  Shores  of  an  Inland  Sea, 


handsome  rug  of  the  down  of  eagles'  breasts  for  one 
hundred  and   twentv  dolhirs!     But  the  traveller 


TOTEM-POLES,  FORT  WRANOEL. 


will  find  equally  as  handsome  curiosities  at  Juneau 
and  Sitka  for  less  than  half  of  what  they  cost  in 
Wrangel ;  and  always,  in  Alaska,  buy  from  the 
natives  as  much  as  possible ;  they  have  a  better 
assortment  and  are  much  cheaper  than  the  stores. 


In  an  Old  Nest, 


37 


le 
Br 


% 


I 


eau 
in 
the 


"  If  you  don't  see  what  you  want,  ask  for  it,"  will 
bring  anything  that  it  is  possible  to  obtain  in  this 
country. 

We  were  curious  to  see  the  interior  of  a  native 
house,  so  we  opened  the  door  of  one  of  the  largest 
and  entered  without  presenting  our  cards.  An  old 
crone,  whose  age  might  have  been  over  a  century, 
liobbled  toward  us  with  some  wooden  spoons  for 
sale ;  but  as  we  only  wished  to  view,  and  not  to  buy, 
we  declined.  In  the  middle  of  the  room,  on  a  dirt 
floor,  was  a  fire  of  wood,  the  smoke  finding  exit 
(finally)  through  a  hole  in  the  roof  directly  over  it. 
Along  two  sides  of  the  room  were  raised  shelves, 
on  one  of  which  a  girl  was  lying,  w^hile  the  other 
sides  of  the  room,  and  the  rafters,  were  hung  with 
skins,  old  tins,  old  clothing,  and  all  manner  of 
w^recks  and  relics.  The  odors  of  decayed  fish  and 
fihh  were  almost  overpowering, — a  skunk  would 
have  been  fragrant  by  comparison, — and  we  left. 

We  boarded  the  steamer  and  stood  westwardly, 
through  Duke  of  Clarence  Straits,  and  reached 
Wrangel  Narrows  by  dinner-time.  These  Nar- 
rows run  for  fifteen  miles,  the  channels  winding  in 
all  directions  ;  one  moment  our  passage  seemed  to 
be  barred  by  some  huge  black  peak  just  ahead. 


tfi 


38 


On  the  Shores  of  an  Inland  Sea. 


when  suddenly  a  turn  of  the  wheel  would  bring 

us  to  a  channel  to  the 
right  or  left,  past  some 
grim  mountain  giant  of 
rugged  aspect  and  wild 
grandeur,  or  else  by  some 
low-lying  island,  whence 
flocks  of  wild  geese,  swans, 
and  solitary  eagles  rose 
slowlv,  as  we  steamed 
past ;  occasionally  the 
howl  of  a  wolf  on  the 
surrounding  hills  or  the 
crackling  underbrush  un- 
der the  stealthy  step  of 
a  panther  or  lynx  would 
mar  the  perfect  stillness 
as  we  glided  past  along 
our  forest-shadowed  path- 
way leading  ever  north- 
ward. 

One     peculiar     appear- 
ance in  these  waters  must 

TOTKM-POLE,   FOHT  WKA-NQEL. 

be   noted, — the  wonderful 
reflections.      Peaks  twenty  miles  away  would  be 


In  an  Old  Nest. 


39 


reflected  in  waves  almost  at  the  steamer's  side ; 
and  often  we  were  deceived  into  believing  that 
native  villages  or  canoes  of  strange  design  were 
resting  against  the  water-line,  when  it  was  only  a 
reflection  of  some  strange  freak  of  nature  in  the 
formation  of  roots,  stumps,  and  trees.  These  re- 
flections are  perhaps  as  wonderful  in  their  way  as 
are  the  mirages  of  tlie  Great  Salt  Lake  and  of  the 
lonely  valleys  of  the  "  Sangre  de  Cristo"  range. 

For  the  last  mile  of  the  narrows  our  attention 
was  attracted  by  a  long  range  of  broken,  jagged 
peaks  lying  to  the  east,  an  occasional  glimpse  of 
whose  snowy  crests  could  be  caught  between  the 
islands  hampering  our  course.  The  steamer  sud- 
denly rounded  a  low  point  of  woods  on  our  right, 
and  there,  before  us,  was  a  glorious  panorama,  un- 
surpassable, probably,  anywhere  on  the  continent. 
To  the  left — the  sapphire  of  the  seas  a  fitting  set- 
ting for  its  emerald  glories — towered  a  massive 
tree-clad  mountain  api)arently  two  thousand  feet 
high ;  beyond,  and  at  a  distance  of  three  miles,  lay 
the  waters,  shining  brightly  under  the  lights  of 
sunset,  the  distant  shores  white  as  snow  with  thou- 
sands of  ice-floes  and  small  bergs ;  while  behind 
all,  stretching  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  their 


n 


40 


On  the  Shores  of  an  Inland  Sea. 


crest?  rougli,  fire-torn,  and  riven  by  long-dead 
volcanic  action,  their  sides  wrapped  in  a  wind- 
ing-sheet of  snow,  lay  the  giants  of  the  Alaskan 
range,  "  ancient  as  the  stars  that  o'er  them  shine." 
But  their  crowning  glory, — like  the  wreath  to  the 
bride, — rendered  more  impressive  and  beautiful  by 
the  tints  of  pearl,  lilac,  and  pink  reflected  from 
their  icy  surfaces,  still  and  peaceful  in  their  grim 
defiles,  through  which  they  slowly  wander  to  the 
waves  below,  lay  the  glaciers, — Baird's,  Le  Conte's, 
and  Patterson's.  Too  awed  to  utter  more  than  an 
occasional  whisper,  we  stand  and  gaze,  drinking 
in  with  eager  eyes  the  fulness  of  beauty  spread 
before  us,  until  the  shadows  gather  form  and  sub- 
stance, the  gray  fog  settles  down  over  the  picture, 
and  night  falls  upon  us;  yet  not  before  we  have 
photographed  that  scene  upon  memory's  sensitive 
plate, — a  ''  positive"  in  color,  rather  than  a  black 
negative, — to  keep  forever. 


To  Icy  Barriers. 


41 


CHAPTER   V. 


TO   ICY    BAKRIERS. 


The  next  morning  brought  us  to  Juneau,  the 
largest  town  in  Alaska,  situated  on  the  slope  of  a 
high  hill,  which  would  be  a  mountain  anywhere 
else  than  in  this  land  of  huge  excrescences  upon 
the  face  of  nature.  Beyond  the  town  (which,  with 
the  exception  of  a  few  stores  where  one  may  buy 
curiosities,    has    nothing    particularly   interesting 


CARVED    PIPE. 


about  it)  one  tinds  a  beautiful  little  glen,  down 
which  rushes  and  tumbles  ''  Gold  Creek,"  and  a 
few  miles  beyond  lies  the  *^  Basin,"  where  fine 
specimens  of  "free  gold"  are  mined.  The  "  Bear's 
Ben,"  situated  above  the  town,  was  formerly  one  of 


42 


On  the  Shores  of  an  Inland  Sea. 


the  best-paying  mines  in  the  vicinity.  Just  across 
the  channel  from  Juneau,  and  connected  with  it  by 
a  little  steamer  which  runs  every  half-hour,  is 
Douglas  Island,  whereon  are  the  Treadwell  gold- 
mines, using  the  greatest  number  of  "  stamps,"  or 
gold-quartz  crushers,  in  the  Avorld, — two  hundred 
and  fifty  of  them,  all  working  at  once,  and  making 
so  deafening  an  uproar  that  a  man  may  shout  his 
loudest  with  his  mouth  close  to  your  ear,  and  yet 
you  will  be  unable  to  distinguish  one  word.  The 
annual  output  of  this  mine  is  about  eight  hundred 
thousand  dollars'  worth  of  gold.  The  ore  is  mined 
immediately  back  of  the  mills,  and  is  conveyed  by 
small  steam  cars  to  the  crushers.  After  being 
ground  up  to  an  almost  impalpable  powder,  the 
ore  is  carried  down  upon  inclined  planes  covered 
with  mercury,  over  which  a  constant  stream  of 
water  runs.  The  mercury  combines  with  the  gold 
to  form  an  amalgam ;  the  other  portions  of  the  ore 
are  washed  down  by  the  water,  to  be  afterwards 
used  in  the  "  roasting  furnace,"  and  the  amalgam 
is  pressed  into  balls  and  then  sublimed,  when  the 
gold  is  left  in  the  little  crucibles  and  the  mer- 
cury collected  for  future  use.  The  smelting-rooms, 
roasting  furnaces,  department  for  chlorine  treat- 


J! 


To  Icy  Barriers. 


43 


merit,  assay-rooras,  etc.,  are  not  open  to  the  visitor; 
but  by  the  kindness  of  one  of  our  passengers,  who 
was  formerly  in  the  employ  of  the  Treadwell  Com- 
2")any,  I  was  permitted  to  see  the  entire  works,  and 
was  agreeably  entertained  by  several  of  the  officials 
connected  therewith.  A  promising  vein  of  tellu- 
rium has  lately  been  found  near  the  mines. 

After  leaving  Juneau,  we  visited  Loring,  and 
saw   the   wreck   of   the   ill-fated   steamer  Queen, 


l\ 


X  m 


NATIVE    (;AN0K. 


which  went  ashore  during  a  gale  some  time  ago; 
and  then  steametl  to  East  Bay.     Here  we  visited 


I'l  :i 


44 


On  the  Shores  of  cm  Inland  Sea. 


a  "  sweat-house,"  as  it  is  called ;  the  native  idea, 
I  suppose,  of  a  free  dispensary  or  hospital.  The 
"  house"  is  of  logs,  chinked  with  mud,  its  contents 
being  a  pile  of  stones  and  a  hole  in  the  ground. 
The  method  of  treatment  is  the  same  for  all 
diseases :  fill  the  hole  with  water,  heat  the  stones 
and  roll  them  into  it.  The  steam  soon  fills  the 
house,  and  when  the  half-boiled  patient  finally 
emerges,  he  runs  down  to  the  water's  edge  and 
plunges  in.  As  a  i^ermanent  cure  for  most  dis- 
eases, it  ranks  very  high ;  but  such  treatment  is 
apt  to  mar  the  future  usefulness  of  the  patient, 
besides  aiding  to  increase  the  occupancy  of  the 
native  cemetery. 

An  interesting  feature,  also,  to  be  seen  here  was 
a  "  salmon  wheel."  This  wheel  was  made  with 
several  scoops  of  net,  and  was  turned  by  the  action 
of  the  current.  The  wheel  is  placed  in  the  chan- 
nel-way of  streams  and  left  to  its  own  devices. 
The  unlucky  salmon,  ascending  the  stream  to 
spawn,  is  caught  up  by  the  scoops  and  dropped 
over  by  the  action  of  the  wheel  into  a  trough 
leading  ashore,  where  the  salmon  canners  come 
the  next  day  and  pick  u[)  as  many  as  they  wish, 
leaving  the  rest  to  die.     Extinction  of  the  salmon 


To  Icy  Barriers. 


45 


'il 


is  only  a  question  of  a  few  years,  if  the  United 
States  permit  such  methods  of  catching  tliem  to  go 
unchecked. 

We  passed  Admiralty  Island  at  night,  and  the 
next  morning  found  us  in  Icy  Straits,  at  the 
entrance  to  Glacier  Bay.  But  the  morning  fog 
lay  thick,  like  a  veil  upon  the  face  of  some  lovely 
woman,  hiding  what  lay  beyond,  and  only  allow- 
ing the  imagination  to  wander  at  will,  and  people 
the  unseen  realms  before  us  with  forms  of  grace 
and  beauty  that  nature  has  rarely  attempted. 

The  purser  and  myself  spent  half  an  hour  in 
shooting  at  seals,  otters,  and  other  marine  forms, 
which  occasionally  appeared  dimly  through  the 
shadowy  thickness ;  and  as  the  fog  gathered  closer 
and  darker,  our  hopes  of  seeing  the  great  glacier 
fell  below  zero ;  for  the  captain  said  that  unless  the 
fog  lifted  by  nine  a.m.  he  would  be  compelled  to  go 
on  to  Sitka  and  leave  the  glacier  unvisited.  But  by 
8.30  A.M.  the  fog  did  lift — o\  er  a  magnificent  view 
that  surpassed  even  the  mental  paintings  we  had 
conjured  up.  To  the  right  lay  the  rough  moraine 
of  the  Muir  Glacier,  stretching  northward  to  its 
progenitor,  its  slopes  green  with  foliage  and  with 
fresh    strawberries    in    profusion.      To    the    left 


m 


w 


■1 -(.I 


II 


fff 


46 


On  the  Shores  of  an  Inland  Sea, 


stretclietl  league  after  league  of  snow-capped 
mountains,  while  afar  the  peaks  of  La  Perouse, 
Crillon,  and  Fairweather  gleamed  white  and  for- 
bi(Uling,  yet,  siren-like,  beckoning  to  their  snowy 
breasts.  No  traveller  has  reached  Fairweather,  I 
am  informed ;  and  if  he  did  so,  the  icy  arms  and 
bosom  of  the  hard-hearted  giantess  might  lull  him 
to  an  eternal  slumber.  It  struck  me  that  if  a  man 
contemplated  suicide,  he  might  attem2)t  the  ascent 
of  those  mighty  peaks,  and  make  a  daily  record  of 
his  travel ;  it  would  help  science  amazingly,  and 
not  be  quite  so  "  vulgar"  as  a  pistol  bullet  in  the 
head. 

From  Icy  Straits — beautiful  but  weirdly  grue- 
some— we  steamed  slowly  into  Glacier  Bay.  The 
waters  were  flecked  with  ice-floes  and  even  bergs  of 
small  magnitude  "  thick  as  autumnal  leaves  that 
strew  the  brooks  of  Vallombrosa,"  yet  the  air  was 
balmy  and  warm  as  our  spring-time.  While  the 
ice-floes  were  scarce,  we  steamed  along  fairly  well ; 
but  when  they  began  to  average  from  sixty  to  a  hun- 
dred feet  square,  and  covered  ever^  hundred  yards 
of  water,  the  captain  "  slowed  down" — and  then 
gave  us  an  example  of  magnificent  seamanship. 
Perched  in  the  '^  cro'  nest,"  his  glasses  always  to 


i-"^ 


To  Icy  Barriers. 


47 


his  eye,  the  captain  sought  out  the  clearest  \  .^sage 
through  the  thousands  of  floes,  and  yet  many  a 
shock  woukl  quiver  through  the  steamer,  as  she 
struck  one  of  the  smaller  bergs,  causing  some  of 


A   BERG   FROM    THE    "MUIR." 


the  passengers  to  ask  if  the  purser  had  any  *^  nerve 
tonic"  on  board.  If  we  had  collided  with  any  of 
the  largest  in  our  course,  the  probability  is  that 
we  would  have  become  speedily  better  acquainted 
with  the  soundings  than  are  the  United  States  gov- 
ernment charts.  Up  we  steamed  until  admiration 
gave  place  to  wonder,  for  before  us  there  towered  a 


is 


iAi' 


48 


0)1  the  Shores  of  an  Inland  Sea. 


V 


gigantic  ice-river  two  miles  in  breadth  and  three 
hundred  feet  from  the  waves  that  thunder  at  its 
base  to  its  rough,  honey-combed  summit, — the 
Muir  Ghicier !  Closer  still  the  steamer  approached 
its  polished  face,  the  roar  of  falling  pinnacle  and 
the  splash  of  its  descent  into  the  waves  coming  ever 
and  anon  to  our  ears,  until  we  anchored  about  a 
mile  below  the  glacier,  white  as  the  superincum- 
hent  snows  w^here  it  had  long  been  exposed  to  the 
air,  yet  bluer  chan  Italian  skies  (which,  by  the 
way,  are  not  one  whit  bluer  than  our  own)  where 
some  newly-made  berg  bad  fallen  from  its  ?eon-oId 
resting-place  in  the  icy  arms  and  upon  the  frozen 
brea'st  of  its  glacier-mother — not  a  deep  sea  blue, 
nor  yet  a  pale,  washed-out  shade;  but  clear,  fer- 
vent, vivid ;  caught,  perhaps,  from  the  skies  and 
seas  of  the  long-gone  tertiary  days,  before  the  ice 
age  began  its  long  carnival  upon  the  world-wide 
summer-tide  of  the  green  earth.  While  we 
watched,  before  the  anchor  had  hardly  taken 
ground,  a  heavy  report  came  booming  over  the 
waves,  and  a  mass  of  snowy  ice-pinnacles  on  the 
face  of  the  glacier  came  tumbling  and  crashing 
into  the  waters  beneath, — a  fitting  discharge  of 
nature's  minute-guns  over  the  grave  of  the  ages 


To  Icy  Barriers, 


49 


dead  and  buried  in  the  old  glacier's  icy  record- 
chamber.  A  few  moments  more,  and,  with  another 
heavy  report,  we  saw  a  huge  mass  of  ice  three 
times  as  large  as  our  steamer  slowly  slide  down- 
ward and  outward  from  the  surrounding  ice-mass. 
Its  speed  quickened,  and  then  suddenly  it  toppled 
sheer  over,  striking  the  waters  with  a  roar  that 
would  almost  drown  Niagara's  hoarse  thunder.  A 
few  score  of  *'  little  pieces,"  weighing  a  hundred  or 
two  tons  each,  flashed  downward  like  silver  arrows, 
and  all  disappeared  beneath  the  surface.  We 
waited  fully  two  minutes,  and  then,  still  seeing 
nothing  of  the  new-made  berg,  almost  gave  up  all 
hope  of  seeing  it  rise,  in  spite  of  the  captain  telling 
us  to  "Look  well ;  for  he  was  a  big  one,  and  when 
he  does  come  up  it  will  be  worth  seeing."  And  it 
was.  A  sudden  swelling  was  visible  in  the  waters, 
a  series  of  botryoidal  formations,  like  soap  in 
boiling,  disturbed  the  serenity  of  the  wavelets, 
and  when  it  had  attained  a  height  of  twenty  or 
thirty  feet,  the  mighty  berg  shot  upward,  with  a 
roar  as  of  a  Kansas  cyclone,  from  the  centre  of 
the  mass,  in  a  column  of  deepest  sapphire, — up 
and  up  for  fully  a  hundred  feet  above  the  glacier 
(itself  three  hundred  feet  above  tide  water), — only 


i<H  I 


s 


50 


0)1  the  Shores  of  an  Inland  Sea, 


I . 


to  fall  back  with  another  crash  into  the  depths,  to 
repeat  the  operation  of  rising  and  falling  to  a 
degree  not  even  to  be  witnessed  in  the  New  York 
Stock  Exchange,  until  finally  it  lay  rocking  gently 
on  the  swell  created  by  its  own  labors,  to  drift  out 
with  the  current  which  runs  ever  seaward  from 
the  glacier,  until  it  mingles  with  the  waters 
whence  it  sprang  in  the  dim,  unknowable  past. 

By  this  time  the  boats  were  lowered,  and  every- 
body crowded  in  to  go  ashore,  or  rather  to  climb 
the  moraine  and  from  it  to  reach  the  top  of  the 
glacier.  The  glacier  has  not  as  yet  achieved  noto- 
riety as  a  means  of  rapid  transit,  but  its  deliberate 
movement  gives  ample  time  to  view  the  scenery.  A 
few  years  ago  it  ex  .ended  fully  a  mile  below  its 
present  frontage,  and  the  '•  dying  glacier"  on  its 
western  side  was  one  of  its  regular  branches ;  but 
the  recession  of  the  ice-walls  has  gradually  sep- 
arated the  main  stream  from  its  smaller  branch, 
and  now  the  "  dying  glacier"  lies  alone  and  is  fast 
disappearing.  We  scrambled  up  the  slippery  side 
of  the  moraine  and  found  ourselves  on  an  undu- 
lating plain  of  wet  mud  and  pebbles,  our  foot-path 
being  a  board  walk  laid  over  the  surface.  Origi- 
nally the  board  walk  was  continuous,  but  now  (one 


To  Icy  Barriers. 


51 


,  to 
)  a 

itly 
out 

rom 
iters 

ery- 
limb 

I  the 

QOtO- 

lerate 
A 
jw  its 
)ii  its 
but 
sep- 
ancli, 
IS  fast 
y  side 
■undu- 
t-path 
Irigi- 
(one 


year  after  being  placed  in  position)  it  is  tilted  in  all 
directions,  sometimes  at  an  angle  of  sixty  degrees, — 
sideways,  endways,  in  some  cases  overturned.  When 
one  of  the  party  asked  the  reason,  we  were  as- 
tounded to  lea  •  '1  that  this  apparent  surface  of  earth 
and  stones  upon  vhich  we  were  walking  was  in  re- 
ality the  glacier  itself;  and  in  a  few  moments  we 
were  shown  a  "  gash"  through  the  crust  which,  on 
inspection,  proved  that  beneath  us  lay  solid  ice  two 
hundred  feet  thick,  and  the  tilting  of  the  walk  was 
due  to  the  erosion  of  the  under  surface  of  the  ice 
and  its  consequent  fluctuations  above.  Scrambling 
up  little  ice-cliffs  and  down  the  dainty  little  ice- 
valleys,  we  at  last  reached  the  clear,  smooth  (com- 
paratively speaking)  crest  of  the  main  glacier. 

Words  can  but  inadequately  describe  the  view. 
Stretching  for  a  hundred  and  seventy-six  miles 
away  into  the  interior,  its  distant  portions  lost  amid 
the  mists  and  rocks  surrounding  it,  with  its  five 
branches  resembling  a  giant  hand  outspread,  lay 
the  ice-river.  To  the  east  and  west  towered  grim, 
dark  mountain-peaks,  while  below  us  lay  the  blue 
waves  of  Glacier  Bay,  flecked  with  white  bergs, 
amid  which  our  steamer  looked  as  small  and  in- 
significant as  certain  Senators  appear  to  be  on  the 


'•tl 


»! 


I 


52 


f'  i 


On  the  Shores  of  an  Inland  Sea. 


floor  of  Congress  at  present.  The  difference  in  the 
comparison  lies  in  the  grandeur,  sublimity,  and 
beauty  of  the  glacial  forum, — details  lacking  in  the 
"  forum  civile." 

Close  beneath  the  east  wall  of  the  glacier  a  tur- 
bulent, muddy  stream  gushes  forth,  caused  by  the 
melting  ice  beneath  the  main  body  of  the  glacier, 
and  which  irresistibly  bears  onward  with  it  the 
bergs,  floes,  and  trees  broken  from  or  carried  down 
by  the  huge  ice-river.  Several  of  our  party 
climbed  fully  a  mile  beyond  the  spot  where  we 
decided  to  pause  and  wait  (having  a  desire,  on  our 
part,  for  further  "  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of 
happiness"),  and,  on  returning,  reported  the  sur- 
face to  be  very  rough  and  honeycombed,  with  many 
huge  crevices  here  and  there,  stretching  downward 
too  far  for  the  eye  to  sound  their  depths. 

But  we  were  not  allowed  to  remain  longer  on 
this  fairy  shore  of  Wonderland,  and,  rejoining  our 
steamer,  with  many  a  lingering  glance  at  the  cold- 
hearted  giant,  we  steamed  slowly  "  backward  o'er 
the  shining  track,"  with  the  glacier  sending  its 
parting  salutes  after  us,  as  if  the  powers  and  forces 
of  nature  were  hurling  their  ammunition  and  thun- 
ders from  the  crumbling  ice-fort  against  the  un- 


To  Icy  Barriers, 


53 


availing  weakness  of  frail  humanity  for  daring  to 
intrude  upon  the  "Temple  courts  where  Time 
holds  rudest  sway."  After  all,  the  glacier  has  a 
very  cold  and  unapproachable  manner,  and  does 
not  allow  one  ever  to  become  very  intimate  with 
his  affairs. 


54 


On  the  Shores  of  an  Inland  Sea, 


n 

(■M  - 


CHAPTER   VI. 


TO   WARMER   CLIMES. 


m^ 


Under  a  warm,  bright  sun,  we  steamed  slowly 
back  through  the  white  and  azure  bergs  dotting 
Glacier  Bay,  down  past  Icy  Straits,  and  so  to  Kil- 
lisnoo,  which  we  reached  late  at  night.  The  next 
day — Sunday — we  were  all  ashore  early,  for  we 
heard  that  there  would  be  services  in  the  Greek 
Church  here, — one  of  the  three  in  the  United 
States, — and  we  all,  I  think,  were  rather  curious 
to  see  the  form  of  worship  which  composes  the 
national  belief  of  a  large  quota  of  the  world's  civ- 
ilization. 

The  most  prominent  attribute  of  Killisnoo  is 
its  smell, — not  a  large  variety  thereof,  but  one 
long  -  continued,  everywhere -permeating  odor  of 
dead  fish.  The  presence  of  the  factory  of  the 
American  and  Alaskan  Fiah  Guano  Company  is 
certified  to  long  before  the  eye  takes  cognizance 
thereof.  Here,  as  at  all  other  Alaskan  ports,  the 
wharfmen,  stevedores,  loafers,  and  inhabitants  gen- 


To  Wanner  Climes. 


bb 


erally  are  native  Si-wash,  with  a  very  slight 
sprinkling  of  American  and  European  (chiefly 
Bussian)  faces.  Here,  too,  I  saw  my  first  '*  widow." 
Ignorance  sometimes  causes  bad  blunders,  and 
when  I  first  saw  this  woman,  with  one-half  of  a 
very  dirty  face  painted  in  deepest  black,  I 
imagined  she  was  a  "  belle"  who  had  chosen  that 
method  of  adding  to  her  charms.  I  speak  ad- 
visedly there,  for  anything  that  would  alter  the 
natural  appearance  of  mr^t  of  these  women  could 
be  considered  a  decided  *;  i"ovement  on  nature. 
But,  on  investigation,  I  found  that,  like  the  crape 
veil  of  her  civilized  sisters,  it  was  the  badge  of 
mourning  universally  adopted  among  the  Hay- 
dahs,  Thlinkets,  Yakutats,  and  other  native  tribes. 
Strange,  is  it  not,  that  the  sombre  shadows  of  the 
tomb  shed  their  blackness  over  the  faces  of  both 
civilized  and  uncivilized  people? 

Another  caprice  of  the  natives,  which  I  first 
observed  here  and  often  thereafter  in  Sitka,  was 
the  *'  labret."  This  is  entirely  a  matter  of  orna- 
ment, and  is  generally  confined  to  the  women, 
though  I  saw  a  few  men  indulging  in  the  practice. 
A  hole  is  bored  through  the  under  lip,  something 
after  the  manner  of  the  Botocudo  Indians  of  Brazil 


il 


5Q 


On  the  Shores  of  an  Inland  Sea. 


I  \t 


(than  whom  not  even  the  most  ill-favored  Si-wash 
is  more  homely),  and  in  this  hole  is  inserted  what- 
ever the  fancy  of  the  wearer  dictates.  On  one 
occasion  I  noticed  three  or  four  teeth,  evidently 
procured  from  the  mouth  behind  them,  all  inserted 
into  the  one  hole,  which  must  have  measured  half 
an  inch  in  diameter.  Usually,  pieces  of  carved 
and  painted  wood  or  bone  fill  up  the  aperture. 
As  a  rare  method  of  adornment  it  stands  alone; 
may  it  long  continue  to  be  worn  only  by  those 


now  using  it. 


There  is  one  other  noteworthy  thhig  about  Kil- 
lisnoo,  and  that  is  the  presence  of  "  Saginaw  Jake,'* 
claimant  to  the  *'  throne,"  and  a  "  hiyu-tyee'* 
(which  may  be  translated  "  big  gun")  in  his  own 
estimation,  which  he  cheerfully  and  frequently  ex- 
presses, and  a  nuisance  in  the  opinion  of  every- 
body else,  which  they  are  ready  to  give  with  equal 
cheerfulness  and  frequency.  *'  Jake"  really  has 
some  claims  to  greatness.  He  was  formerly  the 
"  delait-tyee"  (chieftain)  of  the  tribe,  and  suc- 
ceeded in  stirring  them  up  to  war  against  a  very 
insignificant  portion  of  the  world  called  the  United 
States,  with  tlie  result  that  he  was  soon  in  irons 
and  *'  under  hatches"  on  board  a  paltry  little  craft 


i 


To  Warmer  Climes. 


57 


called  the  Saginaw  (whence  his  title  of  ''  Saginaw 
Jake"),  belonging  to  the  very  small  nation  re- 
ferred to,  and  was  held  some  time  as  a  hostage 
for  the  good  behavior  of  his  people.  On  being 
finally  released,  he  found  himself,  like  his  mod- 
ern representative,  Coxey,  minus  his  followers, 
and  generally  "out  of  a  job,"  and  his  "palace" 
and  position  usurped  by  another  aspirant  for  royal 
and  military  honors.  Unable  to  exercise  his  war- 
like powers,  "  Jake"  erected  an  enormous  eagle  on 


STONK   IDOLS. 


what  he  termed  his  "  skookum-illahee"  ("  palace" 
would  hardly  suit  the  modest  building),  with  an 
escutcheon  and  a  few  lines  of  doggerel,  evidently 
composed  by  some  wag  on  board  the  Saginaw,  in 


58 


On  the  Shores  of  an  Inland  Sea. 


■Hr 


which  his  claims  to  chiefhood  were  asserted.  His 
rival,  not  to  be  outdone,  painted  a  still  handsomer 
"coat  of  arms"  (?),  announcing  his  claims  in  other 
verses,  and  nailed  tliem  over  his  door.  The  two 
rivals  live  peacefully  within  a  few  steps  of  one  an- 
other. "Jake"  weighs  at  least  two  hundred  and 
twenty-five  pounds,  and  is  correspondingly  fond  of 
liquids  whose  strength  only  goes  to  increase  the 
weakness  of  the  imbiber.  Recently  his  wife  con- 
cluded to  "  break  with  him."  Knowing  his  great 
credulity  and  superstition,  she  locked  him  out  of 
doors  one  night,  and  told  him  the  ghosts  of  his  an- 
cestors would  strike  him  dead  if  he  dared  to  enter 
the  door  again  in  an  intoxicated  condition.  The 
bibulous  ex-chief  built  a  ladder  and  climbed  in 
through  the  second-story  window  (there  were  no 
windows  on  the  ground  floor) ,  and  then  his  faithful 
spouse  told  him  that  death  would  equally  result  if 
he  left  the  house.  Thereafter,  for  nearly  two  weeks 
"Jake"  remained  a  prisoner  in  one  room,  and,  as 
his  wife  had  gone  off  with  another  husband,  he  was 
in  danger  of  starving  before  help  reached  him,  the 
neighbors  fearing  divine  chastisement  if  they  inter- 
fered. "Jake"  would  be  called  a  "dude,"  if  that 
word  were  incorporated  into  Chinook.     He  is  the 


To  Warmer  Climes, 


59 


possessor  of  more  suits  of  clothes  than  an  actor, 
and  in  the  course  of  one  morning  I  saw  him  ap- 
pear, first,  down  on  the  wdiarf,  in  a  collection  of 
rents  and  patches  that  would  make  even  a  scare- 
crow look  naked  and  ashamed  ;  th^^'  "  owed  a 
United  States  naval  uniform  (the  worse  for  wear)  ; 
soon  a  stalwart,  brass-buttoned,  blue-coated  police- 
man, with  a  star  as  large  as  a  breakfast  plate  on 
his  breast,  appeared  ;  it  was  "  Jake."  We  went  to 
the  Greek  Church,  and  lo !  "Jake"  was  there, 
acting  the  part  of  precentor,  arrayed  in  a  black 
Prince  Albert  reaching  to  his  heels  and  a  "  stove- 
pipe" surmounting  his  abnormal  cranium.  I 
will  not  describe  the  church ;  that  in  Sitka  is 
much  more  ornate,  but  the  general  plan  is  the 
same.  The  services  were  in  Bussian  (I  presume), 
and  w^ere  interspersed  by  some  very  fair  singing 
by  the  congregation.  There  were  no  seats ;  every- 
body stood,  the  men  on  the  right,  the  women  to 
the  left.  In  prayer,  every  one  knelt.  The  ser- 
mon was  delivered  in  Russian  or  some  other 
language,  and  translated  by  a  small  boy  into  the 
native  tongue.  On  entering,  the  worshippers  cross 
themselves  twice  in  good  Catholic  style.  There  is 
an  American  school    near   the  church,  which  is 


60 


On  the  Shores  of  cm  Inland  Sea. 


\\' 


i 


' 


i 


prosperous  and  doing  good  work.  While  we  were 
attending  services,  another  portion  of  our  passen- 
gers went  fishing  and  secured  a  boat-load  of  hali- 
but, weighing  from  one  hundred  to  one  hundred 
and  fifty  pounds  each.  Think  of  it,  ye  followers 
of  Izaak  Walton ! 

Like  every  other  town  in  Alaska,  a  large  part 
of  the  population  consists  of  dog,  and  a  very  mean 
dog  at  that, — a  gaunt,  sharp-eared,  savage,  wolfish 
variety  of  cur,  whose  great  aim  in  life  seems  to  be 
to  get  into  a  fight  But  simjily  stoop  as  if  to  pick 
up  a  stone,  and  even  Nancy  Hanks  could  not  catch 
them.  They  also  amuse  themselves  fishing.  Half- 
starved  by  their  owners  (when  they  have  any),  they 
subsist  on  fresh  fish ;  and  when  the  tide  goes  out, 
leaving  them  in  the  many  sinks  and  puddles  along 
the  shore,  the  dogs  may  be  often  seen  dashing  in 
and  out  of  the  shallows,  to  emerge  at  last  with  a 
fine,  fat  fish,  which  they  proceed  to  eat  raw. 

Leaving  this  malodorous  but  charming  village 
(taking  with  me  a  very  handsome  stone  idol  pur- 
chased from  one  old  "  klutchman,"  besides  other 
curios),  we  slowly  steamed  away  toward  the  sun- 
set,— toward  Sitka, — toward  the  end. 

Our  way  lay  through  Peril  Straits,  though  why 


To  Warmer  Climes. 


61 


were 
issen- 

liali- 
tidred 
owers 


they  should  be  so  called  is  a  mystery.  It  may  be 
that,  like  Ulysses  and  the  syren  singers  of  the  olden 
centuries,  the  first  explorers  dreaded  lest  the  beauty 
around  and  about  them  should  cause  them  to  cease 
their  wanderings  and  forget  their  homes,  lingering 


J  part 

mean 

rolfish 

to  be 

3  pick 

catch 

Half- 

,they 

!S  out, 

along 

ng  in 

vith  a 

ullage 
I  pur- 
other 
3  sun- 

1  why 


IX   PERIL    STRAITS. 


amid  its  glowing  mountains  and  wave-crested 
waters ;  content  that  here,  at  last,  man  had  found 
the  entrance  to  a  later  Eden. 

The  straits  are  studded  with  beautiful,  tree-cov- 
ered islands,  beyond  which  tower  the  snow-capped 
peaks  of  mountain  ranges  whereon  the  foot  of  man 


62 


On  the  Shores  of  an  Inland  Sea, 


S 


w 


5Bi 


■it 


W 


lias  not,  nor  ever  can,  leave  its  traces, — peaks 
glowing  with  pearl  and  pink  and  lilac  as  the  sun- 
shine showers  its  gold  upon  them, — and  we  gaze 
until  it  seems  a  world  of  enchantment,  and  we 
ourselves  but  spirits.  The  St.  Lawrence,  with  its 
boasted  "  Thousand  Islands,'*  cannot  enter  the  lists 
with  Peril  Straits  for  grandeur  and  sublimity. 
Each  mile  brings  other  and  newer  vistas  before 
us,  each  seeming  fairer  than  that  which  preceded 
it,  until  one  is  bound  to  confess  that  all  is  so  per- 
fect that  there  can  be  no  better  and  no  best,  no 
fairer  and  no  fairest.  The  land  on  our  left,  which 
appears  part  and  j)arcel  of  the  continent,  is  really 
Baranoff  Island,  whereon  is  the  chief  city  and  capi- 
tal of  the  Territory, — Sitka. 

I  think  there  was  but  one  disappointed  individual 
aboard,  and  he  surprised  us  all.  He  had  been  ex- 
amining the  features  of  tlie  country  during  the 
whole  trip,  and  as  he  had  said  little  or  nothing 
about  scenery,  we  expected  wonderful  language  re- 
plete with  poetry  when  utterance  did  come.  And 
this  is  what  he  said,  in  broad  Scotch,  "  Well, 
I'm if  I  ever  saw  a  poorer  country  for  sheep- 
raising."  Tlie  Bible  will  furnish  the  missing 
word.     Instead  of  admiring  the  beauty  about  us. 


To  Wanner  Climes. 


63 


he  was  true  to  his  shepherd  instincts.  The 
"  ruling  passion'^  is  as  strong  in  the  breasts  of 
the  chikh-en  of  the  Grampian  Hills  as  it  is  in 
those  whose  pathway  in  life  leads  through  Wall 
Street. 


64 


On  the  Shores  of  an  Inland  Sea, 


CHAPTER  VII. 


V  ■ 


4 


jH,  ,. 


THE   LAST   MIGRATION. 

As  we  proceeded,  under  a  golden  evening  sky, 
the  liills  gradually  opened  before  us,  at  last  ex- 
hibiting a  broad  strip  of  water  stretching  to  the 
horizon,  which  our  pilot  said  was  the  Pacific ;  the 
huge  mountain  towering  to  the  north-west,  with  the 
upper  half  of  its  grim  sides  a  deep  brick  red  from 
the  lava,  ashes,  and  scoriae  that  incrust  it,  and  its 
lower  half  green  with  the  foliage  of  meadows  and 
the  leaves  of  forests,  is  the  recently  extinct  volcano 
Edgecumbe.  In  the  general  features  surrounding 
it,  it  bears  a  close  resemblance  to  Vesuvius;  though 
the  red  upper  portions  of  Edgecumbe  are  quite 
unlike  the  blackened,  fire-embattled  crags  and 
clefts  of  its  European  brother.  Soon  the  heavy 
report  of  a  cannon,  echoing  along  the  surface  of 
the  wide  waters,  announced  that  we  were  approach- 
ing Sitka,  and  in  a  few  moments  a  turn  to  the  left 
brought  us  in  sight  of  the  Alaskan  capital.  Scat- 
tered along  the  water  front  to  the  north  and  east  of 


The  Last  Migration. 


Qo 


the  town  are  the  cabins  of  the  natives,  while  just 
beyond  the  wharf  is  the  "  phiza,"  as  we  woukl  call 
it  were  we  in  Mexico,  with  the  government  build- 
ings and  stores  on  the  right  and  the  barracks  on 


SITKA    HARHOR   AND    EDGECUMBE. 


the  left.  Directly  in  front  is  the  Greek  Church. 
A  small  eminence  near  the  water's  edge,  behind 
the  government  buildings,  is  capped  by  a  rough- 
looking  structure,  not  at  all  imposing  in  its  general 
appearance,  but  which  has  the  honor  of  being  the 
only  genuine  "  castle"  in  the  dominions  of  "  Uncle 

Sam," — Baranoif  Castle.     Barren  Castle  would  be 

5 


m 


m 


i  i 


,T  I- 


i   ; 


On  the  Shores  of  an  Inlaiid  Sea. 


more  appropriate.  Unfortunately  for  tourists, 
within  the  present  year  this  historic  building  has 
been  reduced  to  ashes,  and  the  only  remains  of  it 
are  probably  in  the  possession  of  sight-seers  and 
relic-hunters.  Beyond  the  town,  to  the  east,  situ- 
ated on  the  little  bay  which  bounds  Sitka  on  the 
south,  are  the  buildings  of  the  Presbyterian  Mis- 


BARANOFF   CASTL?:,  SITKA. 

sion,  now  under  the  charge  of  Rev.  Shehlon  Jack- 
son ;  while  between  the  town  and  the  Pacific  lie  a 
hundred  little  islands, — volcanic  waifs,  orphaned 
by  the  death  of  the  subterranean  fires  within  the 
breast  of  Edgecumbe,  only  twelve  miles  away; 
and  against  their  tiny  rock  barriers  the  ocean 
breakers  dash  ceaselessly,  sending  their  musical 
rhythm  in  harmonious  melody  across  the  mile  that 
separates  them  and  us. 

As  soon  as  the  gang-plank  can  be  thrown  over, 
we  disembark   to  see   what  we   can  ere  daylight 


h» 


The  Last  Iligration, 


67 


closes.      Baranoff  Castle  being  nearest,  two  of  us 
(the  "  kodak  fiends,"  of  course)  climbed  the  steps 
leading  up  the  little  hill  to  the  entrance  of  the  castle. 
Built  during  the  Russia     occupation,  it  was  for- 
merly a  place  of  splendor ;  now  it  has  a  dilapidated, 
melancholy  appearance,  and  would  be  an  addition 
to  a  New  York  tenement-house  exhibit.    Why  did 
not  Chicago  take  up  the  "  slums"  of  the  American 
cities,  and  help  along  the  cause  of  corrective  moral 
principles  in  this  direction  ?     Baranoff  Castle  and 
a  few  Si-wash  shanties  would  have  made  a  good 
nucleus.     I  am  not  going  into  details  concerning 
Baron  Baranoff  and  the  transfer  of  the  Territory 
to  the  United  States,  nor  of  the  ghosts,  nor  Lady 
Franklin,  nor  the  hundred  other  tales  that  every 
one  knows.     The  rooms  in  the  front  of  the  castle 
were  locked,  and  we  could  not  enter ;  but  on  the 
south  side  of  the  house  we  found  some  windows 
(minus    the    sashes),    and    with    little    difficulty 
climbed   in  and  started  on   a  tour  of  inspection. 
We  found  nothing  either  above  or  below  stairs, 
except  some  gaudily  papered  rooms,  with  hand- 
some old  cornices,  decayed  flooring,  and  numbers 
of  spiders.    The  rooms  are  small,  with  exceedingly 
low  ceilings,  and  I  can  but  hold  my  peace  regard- 


68 


On  the  Shores  of  an  Inland  Sea. 


ll  11 


If;i 


ii 


■'I 


ing  the  very  slight  vestiges  of  architectural  beauty 
here  and  there.  They  consist  only  of  panels  to 
certain  doors,  or  a  handsome  niche  or  bit  of  dentil 
now  and  then.  The  view  from  the  cupola,  how- 
ever, is  very  fine,  embracing  the  Sitkan  archipelago 
and  the  mountain  ranges  far  in  the  interior. 
Everybody  registered  his  name  and  address  in  the 
Herald  and  Alaska7i^ — modest  little  newspapers, 
with  very  little  i^aper  and  less  news  in  their 
general  make-up, — and  soon  thereafter  returned  to 
the  Topeka. 

It  seemed  odd  to  be  on  deck  at  ten  p.m.  and 
find  the  glow  of  twilight  as  deep  and  vivid  as 
it  would  be  at  home  at  eight.  I  was  called  out 
of  my  room  by  one  of  the  passengers,  in  the 
"  wee,  sma'  hours,"  to  see  my  first  arctic  aurora. 
We  are  all  familiar  with  its  appearance  in  tem- 
perate latitudes ;  but  few  can  realize  that  the 
broad,  glowing  belt  of  color,  flaming  with  pink, 
yellow,  and  green  lights,  changing  shape  and 
shade  wliile  we  gaze,  scintillating  as  if  clouds  of 
first  magnitude  stars  were  gathered  into  one  long- 
extended  Milky  Way  across  the  heavens,  is  the 
same  substance  with  whose  appearance  we  are  so 
familiar.     For  fully  half  an  hour  did  we  watch 


The  Last  Migration, 


69 


an 


ng- 
the 


the  glowing,  shining  ribbon  bound  across  the  dark 
forehead  of  the  night,  until  suddenly,  in  the  space 
of  half  a  minute,  not  longer,  it  paled  and  faded 
and  passed  into  nothingness,  leaving  earth,  sky, 
and  waters  hushed  and  darkened,  as  if  in  the 
presence  of  the  death-angel. 

The  next  morning  our  first  thoughts  were  for 
the  native  quarter,  and  thither  we  turned  our 
steps.  We  had  not  yet  satiated  our  curiosity  re- 
garding the  usual  sights  and  sounds  of  the  Si- wash 
villages ;  rows  of  salmon  hanging  on  long  poles  in 
front  of  the  little  cabins;  huge  black  cakes  of 
*'  muk-a-muk"  (dried  sea-weed  pressed  into  blocks, 
and  which  takes  the  place  of  bread)  lying  on  the 
damp  earth,  and  used  as  a  "  door-mat"  ecpially  by 
dog  and  native ;  canoes  in  all  conditions  of  dilapi- 
dation,— these  and  a  dozen  other  strange  sights 
were  as  new  to  us  still  as  a  clean  recruit  would 
appear  to  *'  Genend"  Coxey.  The  houses  are 
numbered,  but  in  rather  a  novel  way, — by  hun- 
dreds, and  not  by  units.  The  second  house 
from  the  wharf  is  numbered  200,  the  twenty- 
fourth  house  would  be  2400,  the  very  next 
one  would  be  2500,  and  so  on.  If  the  settle- 
ment contained   more  than  the  very  small  num- 


70 


On  the  Shores  of  an  Inland  Sea, 


I! 


I: 


\h 


ber  of  houses  actually  in  existence  (about  sixty), 
the  above  plan  would  be  confusing,  even  to  one 
who  had  mastered  the  tariff  question.  Here  dwells 
"Princess  Tom,"  an  aged  crone  who  attempts  to 
inveigle  the  unwary  into  purchasing  articles  of 
utter  uselessness  at  immoderate  rates.  Near  by 
is  the  "  illahee"  of  "  Sitka  Jake,"  the  most  noted 
and  noteworthy  of  Alaskan  carvers  in  wood  or 
metal.  From  him  or  his  brother  one  may  pur- 
chase beautifully  ornamented  souvenir  spoons  of 
solid  silver,  carved  by  himself,  at  prices  that  would 
break  a  "penny  bargain  counter"  in  any  civilized 
countrv.  You  can  buv  anvthino;  here  from  the 
natives, — odd  V-slia})ed  fish-hooks  carved  of  wood, 
paddles,  canes, — everything  that  the  Alaskans  use 
ordinarily,  and  that  is  ilhistrative  of  their  daily 
life,  can  be  purchased  everywhere.  At  the  ex- 
treme north  end  of  the  vilhige  several  natives  were 
busily  engaged  in  completing  the  great  war-canoe 
which  formed  part  of  the  Alaskan  exhibit  at  the 
World's  Fair. 

By  the  time  we  liad  completed  our  tour  of  the 
native  quarter  we  were  ready  to  visit  the  Greek 
Church  ;  and,  retracing  our  steps,  we  soon  came  to 
that  edifice.     The  building  is  erected  in  the  form 


Tlte  Last  Migration. 


71 


of  the  Greek  cross,  and  is  surmounted  by  a  tower 
containing  a  town  clock  (which  marks  one  certain 
fixed  hour  witli  its  single  hand)  and  a  chime  of 
bells,  sent  from  St.  Petersburg  when  the  Territory 
was  still  a  Russian  province.  Within,  the  scene 
changes;  instead  of  the  rough,  boarded  exterior, 
we  find  a  light,  airy,  beautiful  little  structt:re, 
adorned  with  paintings,  some  of  thc:n  of  rare  merit, 
and  claimed  to  be  works  from  the  hands  of  those 
great  artists  of  the  Eastern  hemisphere  who  have 
added  so  nmch  to  the  galleries  of  Antwerp,  the 
Louvre,  Dresden,  and  the  Italian  palaces.  There 
was  one  method  of  adding  to  (or,  in  my  opinion, 
detracting  from)  the  beauty  of  the  pictures  in  sev- 
eral cases, — a  method  up  to  that  time  unknown  to 
me,  but  with  which  I  have  since  become  familiar 
in  several  of  the  European  galleries, — I  refer  to 
the  covering  up  of  every  portion  of  a  picture  with 
rei^oussc  sheets  of  gold  and  silver,  save  where 
hands,  face,  and  feet  appear.  It  is  rather  incon- 
gruous to  ex])ect  a  tourist  to  admire  a  work  of 
Rapliael,  wdien  the  only  parts  of  the  painting  vis- 
ible are  the  flesh  tints,  the  rest  being  hidden.  If 
the  gold  and  silver  be  solid,  it  may  enhance  in  a 
slight   degree   the   "  bullion"  worth  of  a   picture 


On  the  SJiores  of  an  Inland  Sea. 


in  a  massive  gold  frame ;  but  lovers  of  Raphael 
would  much  rather  see  the  glorious,  deep-tinted 
canvas  of  his  master-hand  than  the  tawdry  ac- 
companiments of  gilt  and  silvered  covering  that 
hide  his  handiwork. 

We  w^ere  not  permitted  to  enter  the  "sanctum 
sanctorum"  (although  one  of  our  number,  at  least, 
could  have  told  of  hidden  mysteries  within  only 
those  whose  life  is  guided  by  the  plumb,  square, 
and  level — even  by  the  three  "  T"  squares  and  the 
sword  and  buckler  of  the  "  red  cross" — can  ex- 
2)lain)  ;  but  our  guide,  Mr.  George  Kostrometinoff, 
brought  out  for  our  inspection  the  various  "  relics" 
therein.     Thev  consisted  of  articles  whereof  Moses 

u 

and  the  Aaronic  priesthood  w'ere  ignorant:  mag- 
nificent garments  of  the  clergy,  every  one  endjroid- 
ered  in  gold  thread,  on  groundwork  of  "purple, 
scarlet,  and  fine  linen,"  with  mitres  of  royal  dimen- 
sions, one  of  them  containing  an  emerald  two  and 
one-half  inches  high  by  one  inch  broad,  wdth  a  gold 
crucifix  inlaid.  If  it  happens  to  be  genuine,  it  is 
worth' a  fortune;  if  glass  (as  I  suspect),  worthless. 
Here  also  ai'e  the  "  bridal  crowns"  placed  upon  tlie 
head  of  bride  and  groom  who  join  life's  army  under 
the  banner  of  the  Greek  Church.     They  are  oi'na- 


The  Last  Iligration. 


73 


mented  (?)  with  imitation  gems  in  glass,  of  rubies, 
sapphires,  emerakls,  etc.  These  priestly  garments 
are  similar  in  style  to  the  robes  that  one  would  be 
shown,  while  wandering  through  the  Vatican,  as 
the  regal  robes  of  long-dead — almost  forgotten — 
Popes  and  archbishops. 

The  paintings  are  the  most  interesting  features 
of  the  church.  On  the  right  and  left  of  the  nave 
are  two  little  alcoves,  or  chapels,  dedicated  to 
sj)ecial  saints,  in  which  are  the  choicest  works  of 


,'> 


VI KW    OF   SITKA. 

(rormission  of  "Youths'  Coiiipanioii.") 


a- 


art.  Exce[)t  for  the  three  altars,  the  interior  has 
no  other  ornamentation  than  the  pictures,  flam- 
beaux, and  other  accessories  of  priestly  worship. 


w 


74 


On  the  Shores  of  an  Inland  Sea. 


i 


II' 


I* 
I 


Leaving  the  clmrcli,  we  went  eastwardly  through 
the  town  and  along  the  shoi'e  of  the  bay  until  we 
reached  the  buildings  of  the  Presbyterian  Mission. 
Mr.  A.  E.  Austin  is  at  present  in  charge,  and  the 
study  into  which  we  were  ushered  bears  w^itness 
to  the  taste  for  beautv  and  curios  which  Mr. 
Austin  possesses.  The  floors  are  adorned  with 
handsome  fur  rugs ;  the  walls  and  shelves  are 
ornamented  with  choice  specimens  of  native  work- 
manship interspersed  with  works  of  standard  merit. 
The  students  are  all  bright,  intelligent  young  men 
and  girls,  very  different  from  their  own  people 
who  dwell  in  the  native  quarter,  and  who  have  not, 
as  yet,  adopted  civilization  and  its  adjuncts.  The 
various  workshops  and  museum  contain  much  that 
is  interesting,  exhibiting  the  advance  made  by  the 
students  over  their  normal  semi-civilized  state. 
The  tools  most  used  are  the  broken  blades  of 
knives,  old  ends  of  worn-out  chisels,  and  rem- 
nants of  other  implements,  which  are  fixed  into 
wooden  handles,  bound  with  rawhide,  and  seem  to 
do  excellent  work  in  the  hands  of  their  owners. 
In  the  carpenter-shop  was  a  handsome  door,  repre- 
senting devil  fish,  reindeer,  whales,  and  other 
totemic  symbols,  which  a  boy  about  twelve  years 


The  Last  Mi q ration. 


75 


of  age  was  making  as  a  part  of  the  Columbian 
exhibit. 

A  walk  of  about  half  a  mile  along  the  shore 
and  through  the  dense  2,reen  w^oods  brought  us  to 
Indian  River,  a  turbulent  little  stream  which 
dashfc3  down  its  rock-strewn  pathway  in  swift 
endeavor  to  reach  the  quiescent  waters  at  its 
mouth.  A  rustic  bridge  spans  the  stream,  which 
is  not  over  sixtv  vards  wide.  The  chief  sij:fht, 
however,  w^as  not  the  beauty  and  peace  of  the 
scene,  but  ilie  thousands  of  huge  salmon  flapping 
around  in  the  ripples,  and  all  intent  on  migrating 
to  the  head-waters  of  the  river  to  spawn.  I 
rolled  up  my  sleeves,  stepped  from  rock  to  rock 
until  near  the  middle  of  the  current,  and,  stooping 
down,  in  a  few  moments  I  had  caught  several 
salmon  two  feet  or  more  in  length, — r'aught  them 
with  no  other  weapons  than  my  own  hands, — as 
they  passed  up-stream.  It  was  a  novel  experience 
in  fishing.  Many  of  the  fish  had  large  gashes  on 
their  sides  from  the  sharp  edges  of  rock  with 
which  they  had  come  in  contact. 

But  this  was  our  last  day  in  Sitka;  the  approach 
of  sunset  found  us  hastening  on  board ;  and  soon, 
amid  the  waving  of  hats  and  handkerchiefs,  we 


76  On  the  Shores  of  an  Inland  Sea. 

steamed  slowly  out  from  the  islet-filled  bay,  turned 
our  backs  upon  grim  Edgecumbe,  and  were  finally 
started  safely  on  our  homeward  way.  The  captain, 
however,  did  not  intend  us  to  leave  Alaska  without 
a^  least  a  glimpse  of  one  other  of  its  mighty  ice- 
rivers,— the  Davidson  Glacier.     It  was  about  five 


ji 


f 


ill! 


CIIILKAT    BAY. 


o'clock  the  next  morning  when  I  was  awakened  by 
a  loud  rap  at  my  door,  and  a  gruff  voice  shouted, 
"  If  you  want  to  see  the  glacier,  come  out ;  we'll 
be  passing  it  in  a  few  minates."  The  speed  with 
which  I  (and  probably  every  one  else)  dressed  that 


The  Last  3Iiyration, 


77 


morning  was  astonishing.  On  leaving  my  state- 
room, I  was  met  by  a  dense  fog, — probably  the 
gloomiest,  most  dismal  sight  I  ever  witnessed. 
Through  the  coiling  wreaths  I  occasionally  had  a 
glimpse  of  some  grim,  black  cliff,  which  was 
speedily  swallowed  up  in  smoke-like  vapor. 
Hurrying  to  the  upper  deck,  I  found  my  fellow- 
travellers  gazing  out  to  the  left,  and  in  a  few 
moments  the  fog  broke  and  i  svealed  the  Davidson 
Glacier  in  all  its  majestic  proportions.  The  waters 
beneath  our  hull  are  those  of  Chilkat  Bay;  to  the 
right  are  sheer  cliffs  and  precipices  from  seventeen 
hundred  to  twenty-one  hundred  feet  high,  and 
perpendicular  from  base  to  summit;  and  upon 
their  rugged  tops  lie  snow-banks  from  one  hun- 
dred to  five  hundred  feet  in  thickness.  To  the  left 
lies  the  fan-shaped  mass  of  the  glacier;  not  so  long 
as  the  Muir,  but  exceeding  it  by  fully  a  mile  in 
width,  and  of  an  equal  height.  Its  face,  however, 
does  not  impress  one  as  does  the  Muir,  for  its 
terminal  moraine  obstructs  the  view.  In  the 
Muir,  thf^  frontage  is  directly  in  the  waves  ;  in  the 
Davidson,  it  ceases  where  the  moraine  begins.  Yet, 
in  spite  of  this,  when  one  sees  it  for  the  first  and 
last  time  in  his  life,  wreathed  around  by  "  coiling 


78 


On  the  Shores  of  cut  Inland  Sea. 


!'•• 


i^ 


clouds  that  melt  like  t'liine  of  shrines  that  steatn,'* 
with  a  gray,  stormy  cloiul  overhead  and  the 
gloomy  rocks  and  gloomiei*  waters  around  and 
about  it,  it  leaves  impressions  that  cannot  fade, 
any  more  than  the  giant  rock-nurses  that  have 
watched  over  the  glacier  from  its  infancy  in  the 
by-gone  ages  of  earth's  history  to  its  manhood — 
aye,  and  will  watch  its  empty  cradle  long  after  the 
icy  heart  has  melted  and  disappeared — will  pass 
like  dreams  and  visions  of  the  night.  Then  the 
fog  closes  down,  ghostly  and  solemn,  and  the 
Davidson  Glacier,  Chilkat,  the  rock  cliffs,  vanish 
from  our  sight.  We  turn  away  mournfully,  as  if 
some  dear  friend  had  left  us,  and  silently  we  go 
down  to  the  usual  routine  of  steamer  life. 

So  we  glide  on,  backward  to  the  scenes  visited  so 
recently,  speaking  the  steamer  City  of  Mexico 
on  her  northward  trip;  southward,  until  fair  faces 
greet  us  instead  of  the  scowling  visages  of  the  Si- 
wash  ;  until  summer-tide  takes  us  by  the  hand  and 
leads  our  thoughts  away  from  ice-rivers  and  gloomy 
snow-fields ;  until  the  past  fades  and  the  present 
comes  to  cheer  and  bless  us,  and  Alaska — golden, 
sunny,  fair,  muddy,  gloomy,  stormy,  contradictory 
Alaska — seems  more  a  fairy  dream — a  realization 


TJie  Last  Migration. 


79 


of  the  mythic  Hesperides — the  lost  Athintis — the 
fabled  Eden — than  a  reality ;  and  not  only  a  part 
and  parcel  of  this  little  planet,  but  also — our 
country ! 


THE    END. 


